Westmeath waste to be buried in neighbouring counties

Waste from Westmeath may be transported to neighbouring counties when Ballydonagh landfill closes in July 2010, Westmeath County Council Director of Services Ray Kenny told a meeting of the Council"s Environment SPC this week. The closure will mean some of Westmeath"s waste will be transported to neighbouring counties for disposal. 'Offaly County Council have extended a landfill and Laois County Council have extended a landfill. We don"t see that there is a major concern,' said Mr Kenny. Speaking at the meeting in the Market House, Mullingar, Mr Kenny said he expected two thirds of Ballydonagh landfill to be permanently capped by June of this year. At the same time a new gas extraction system will also be put in place which will alleviate some of the odours from the facility. The remaining third of the landfill will be capped when the site is closed in the second quarter of 2010, he said. Cllr Mark Cooney questioned the cost involved in moving the waste if there are no incinerators planned to deal with the situation, 'presumably you are going to have to go elsewhere,' he said. He said when Ballydonagh was commissioned the councillors had been under the impression that the Regional Waste Management Plan would be in place by now and there wouldn"t be a need for the continued use of landfills. Mr Kenny said the cost of disposing of rubbish is fixed by the council and he didn"t expect any problem getting a good price as there is a competitive market out there. 'There are companies out there who are looking for waste and offering reduced prices,' he said. During 2008 a total of 46,506 tonnes of waste was landfilled at Ballydonagh. Work started on the restoration of the landfill in November 2008 and consists of placing a sealed cap over the landfill and installing additional gas extraction to combat emissions.