Green party councillor, Deirdre de Burca, has called for Wicklow County Council to include a clear policy on illegal dumps as part of the new Replacement Waste Plan that is being drawn up at the moment.

According to de Burca, the Replacement Waste Plan which is currently on public disply until the middle of May contains no clear policy on illegal dumps. She says this is a serious omission in the Plan and should be addressed by the council.

“As we have seen of late, the Environmental Protection Agency has made two important decisions in relation to illegal dumps in Wicklow” says de burca. “In both cases the EPA ruled that no new waste could be imported into the site, and that all non-inert waste had to be removed from the site to legal landfill facilities elsewhere. Only non-inert or inactive waste could be left on site”.

The Green Party councillor says that Wicklow County Council’s direction to Roadstone to create a legal landfill on its lands at Blessington where several substantial illegal dumps were found raises questions about the council’s own policy on illegal dumps. She says that the people of Wicklow cannot continue to rely on external bodies like the EPA to make the correct decisions on illegal dumps in Co Wicklow, and she has called on Wicklow County Council to draw up a clear policy on how it intends to deal with such dumps.

“This new Replacement Waste Strategy must contain a policy on illlegal dumps if it is to be a meaningful document” says de Burca. “At the moment, it allows the council complete discretion about how to deal with any illegal dump that is found in County Wicklow. The council’s previous decision on Roadstone’s illegal dump would not inspire confidence in the public at large.The Green Party is making a submission to Wicklow County Council insisting on the inclusion of a policy on illegal dumps in the new Waste Plan. I would encourage other members of the public to do the same”.

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Press Release by Deirdre