Illegal NI Waste Shipped South

Officials from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and Dublin City Council started returning an estimated 10,500 tonnes of waste from rural Ballymartin in scenic Co Down to the Irish Republic this week.

The North's Environment Minister Alex Attwood said of the removal of waste to the Irish Republic: "I welcome the fact that illegally deposited waste has started to be removed from another site.

"I am in ongoing contact with my counterpart in the Republic of Ireland, Phil Hogan over this issue. I want the whole process to be completed as quickly as possible.

"This will result in another major source of pollution being removed from our community. What I and DOE are about is making Northern Ireland a better place to live, work and invest and the less illegally deposited waste the better," he said, noting that an agreement between Dublin City Council and the NIEA to repatriate illegal waste was made in June 2009 and this is the third site so far to see waste repatriated.

The process to remove the waste from Ballymartin is estimated to take up to 10 weeks to complete. The waste will be excavated and repatriated to a fully authorised landfill site in the Republic of Ireland.

Down In The Dumps

The news came amid calls to speed-up recycling rates in Northern Ireland with a claim that it would all-but cease if a new education and communication programme is not implemented.

That's according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) who reported that without action to stimulate waste management and recycling, Northern Ireland will not meet statutory targets, incurring significant EU fines.

The organisation said that the country achieved a 2009/10 municipal recycling rate of 33.1% and it is currently consulting on a 60% recycling rate by 2020.

However, the annual rate of increase in municipal waste recycling in Northern Ireland has slowed from 6% in 2004/05 to 1.5% in 2009/10.

RICS Northern Ireland spokesman Michael Doran anticipated this slowdown to continue: "It is very difficult to see how we are going to meet the targets if there isn't some kind of significant impetus.

"In my view, this needs to be a large education and communication programme that communicates both the need for and the benefits of recycling.

"Some people might argue that we can't afford such a programme at present with the pressures on public spending, but the reality is that we can't afford not to - not least due to the potential fines that we would incur if we don't meet the EU targets."

Meanwhile, the Alliance Sustainability Spokesperson Cllr Alan Lawther has said that extra awareness-raising measures are vitally important to help ensure recycling rates grow.

He said that promoting recycling is important to help prevent Northern Ireland facing fines from the EU if the region fails to meet targets.

Cllr Alan Lawther said: "Further awareness-raising measures are extremely important to help encourage increased recycling.

"Recycling is not just good for the environment but also positive in terms of ensuring Northern Ireland avoids fines which could be incurred if the region fails to meet targets.

"Recycling helps the public purse by ensuring we meet targets and it is very important that there is clear communication of all the benefits of doing so. We need to also ensure progress on the residual waste treatment project to help us continue to meet targets," he said.

"There is much potential for Northern Ireland to send out a positive message to the world on the steps we are taking on environmental issues.

"Recycling, a Green New Deal and the creation of an independent Environmental Protection Agency are all areas where strong progress could help build on our environmental credentials," he concluded.

(BMcC/GK)