Ireland’s landfill levy “does not go far enough “and should be increased to €40 per tonne in 2010, according to an Irish recycling firm.
Greyhound Recycling and Recovery has stated the increase of €10 per tonne will not deter businesses and households from using landfill as a solution to the waste they generate.
A spokesman said: “Given the nature of the Irish economy at the moment, it is actually cheaper to landfill material than it is to recover or recycle. But the onus needs to be put on the producer to do something constructive with it .”
Under new proposals announced by the Minister for Environment John Gormley (20 November), landfill tax will increase to €30 per tonne by 2010, €50 per tonne by 2011 and €75 per tonne by 2012 (see MRW story).
Greyhound Recycling and Recovery managing director Brian Buckley said: “Companies like Greyhound Recycling have infrastructure in place to manage the tonnage generated which should be diverted from landfill, and this infrastructure will not add additional costs to waste producers. If people are not forced financially to change habits to comply with the EU Landfill Directive, why will change occur?
“The landfill levy in 2010 should have increased to €40 and this is an opportunity lost to maintain and create employment within the green economy.”
Gormley also announced that an incineration levy will be introduced in the range of €20 to €38 per tonne.
Ireland has plans to build incinerators in Cork, Dublin, and County Meath but currently it does not have any incinerators. According to recent media reports, the Irish Waste Management Association that represents big waste firms such as Greenstar, stated that it would not use the controversial Poolbeg incinerator planned for Dublin because it was “ill-conceived” and “grossly oversized” for the Dublin market.
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