Vol. 520 No. 1
282 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if, in the context of plans for the future waste disposal strategy, he has commissioned any study on the emissions from incinerators and their possible adverse health effects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15399/00]
Thermal treatment of waste, carried on in accordance with high environmental standards, is regarded as environmentally preferable to the disposal of waste by landfill, and plays a major part in municipal waste management in many EU countries and further afield.
In accordance with the policy guidance outlined in Changing our Ways, emerging regional waste management plans provide for the development of an integrated network of waste management infrastructure, including facilities for thermal treatment of waste.
To inform the development and implementation of these waste management plans, two EU-funded feasibility studies were carried out in 1998 on thermal treatment-recovery options as one element in an integrated approach towards waste management. These studies examined the technical, environmental and financial advantages and disadvantages of thermal treatment in two distinct rural regions – the north-east and mid-west – and in the greater Dublin region.
The studies were commissioned respectively by Meath County Council, on behalf of eight local authorities in the two rural regions concerned, and Dublin Corporation on behalf of the four local authorities in the Dublin region.
