Bertie Ahern
Ceist:15 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment if he has satisfied himself with the current arrangements for medical waste in the context of his overall responsibility for waste management. [12903/97]
Written Answers. - Waste Management.
Bertie Ahern
Ceist:19 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn in the context of his overall responsibility for waste management to the situation whereby he has indicated that he does not favour incineration as a waste disposal option, that the Department of Health in its tender document for disposal of hospital waste specifically rules out incineration as an option but an inter-Departmental committee has been established to establish the feasibility of a national incinerator to cope with BSE and the Minister of State for Energy has recently announced a waste-to-energy plant for west Dublin; and if he will clarify the Government's intentions in this regard. [12904/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 19 together.
It is not the case that I have indicated that I do not favour incineration as a disposal option for all waste streams or in all circumstances. On the contrary, in reply to a number of questions tabled on 7 November 1995, I stated that "On-site incineration of hazardous wastes, subject to strict Environmental Protection Agency licensing, and export of remaining limited quantities of wastes requiring off-site high-temperature incineration, represent satisfactory environmental management options for this waste stream". I also stated on the same occasion that "Incineration of waste with energy recovery is recognised as a valid source of alternative energy" and I noted that the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications had announced details of a special initiative to promote the production of electricity from biomass — including forestry, agricultural and other wastes.
In reply to Questions Nos. 34 and 76 of 9 October 1996, I explained that consideration by the Government Departments concerned of incineration as a possible option to deal with cetain animal waste materials was not in conflict with policy decisions being implemented in relation to the separate streams of health-care waste.
The optimum waste management option for any waste stream must be determined by reference to all relavant environmental and economic considerations. Waste incineration is one such option: it is used extensively within the OECD countries and is regulated by a number of EU Directives. Irish environmental legislation, in particular the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992, provides for the licensing of waste incineration activities on the basis of best practicable standards, including relevant EU requirements. Licences for both industrial and hospital waste incineration have been granted by Environmental Protection Agency.
As regards arrangements for health-care wastes, these are now being upgraded on foot of new Environmental Protection Agency licensing requirements which I have extended to all existing hospital incinerators and on foot of a joint North-South approach to the market, in which the Department of Health is fully involved, for improved arrangements for the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of this waste. Details of this initiative were recently set out by the Minister for Health in reply to Question No. 56 of 7 May 1997.