Brian O'Shea
Question:699 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on gasification as an alternative form of thermal treatment for urban waste; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20193/00]
Vol. 523 No. 1
699 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on gasification as an alternative form of thermal treatment for urban waste; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20193/00]
The 1998 policy statement, Changing our Ways, recommended that local authorities identify and assess a range of waste treatment technologies with a view to the development of an integrated waste management infrastructure appropriate to their particular circumstances. 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 considered three thermal treatment options – waste incineration with energy recovery, WTE, gasification and pyrolysis – under a range of criteria. At the time, the consultants concluded, inter alia, that: WTE is a safe, tried and tested technology capable of meeting stringent environmental standards; gasification and pyrolysis are emerging technologies which are continuing to be developed to the scale likely to be appropriate in Irish circumstances; gasification does not have the same track record as WTE, but appears to be close to becoming proven as a treatment method for municipal wastes; gasification offers environmental advantages over WTE, including lower emissions; pyrolysis may have future potential in certain applications but is not currently suitable as a bulk treatment method for municipal wastes. I am not aware of any more recent facts that would fundamentally challenge these conclusions.
700 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the proposals he has to actively promote the segregation of the various types of household refuse at source to facilitate recycling and composting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20194/00]
705 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the proposals he has to promote communal composting sites on a nationwide basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20410/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 700 and 705 together.