GREENSTAR, the waste firm owned by NTR, is considering whether to seek a High Court judicial review after An Bord Pleanála rejected its plans to turn its landfill at Knockharley, Co Meath, into a superdump, which would handle 400,000 tonnes of waste a year.
The company had argued that the move was necessary due to a shortfall in waste-disposal capacity in the Greater Dublin Area, caused by delays to the proposed Poolbeg incinerator project and Fingal County Council's new landfill at Nevitt.
Greenstar told the board that the shortfall would peak at over 500,000 tonnes of waste a year by 2014 and that Knockharley was the only landfill in the region which could contribute to meeting this challenge. The landfill currently handles a maximum of 132,000 tonnes a year.
The planning board ruled, however, that the proposed development was contrary to both EU and national waste-disposal policy, which aims to reduce the country's dependence on landfills by promoting alternatives.
The ruling came after the planning inspector examining the project, Breda Gannon, reported that she considered "the proposed increase in waste acceptance [at Knockharley] is an unnecessary development having regard to the current available and future landfill capacity in the Greater Dublin Area".
A spokeswoman for Greenstar said the company was disappointed by its ruling and was examining its options.
She said the company believed the inspector's report was flawed as it assumed that other rival facilities would be available in the short term to meet Dublin's waste shortfall.
Sunday Tribune
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