In July 2007 I met with Ms. Anne Butler, an environmental consultant acting on behalf of the proposers of the project. The purpose of this meeting, and of a separate meeting with my Department, was to outline a form of thermal treatment of waste which differs from conventional municipal waste incineration. There was, of course, no question of these discussions comprehending matters proper to the physical planning or environmental licensing processes from which I, and my Department, are precluded from involvement.
My Department and I hold regular consultations with stakeholders in the context of the ongoing implementation of Government policy on waste management. Consulting widely, with a range of stakeholders, is designed to ensure that my Department and I have as full as possible an understanding of the issues and concerns of stakeholders and are therefore in a position to address them, where it is possible and appropriate to do so. Such consultations are also useful to assist me and my Department in keeping up to date on alternative technologies to landfill and to traditional incineration.
The Programme for Government clearly sets out the approach to waste management that will be reflected in national policy in the years ahead. It is firmly grounded in a continuing commitment to the waste hierarchy with a renewed drive towards the achievement of international best practice in the reduction, re-use and recycling of our waste. This, coupled with an increasing emphasis on technologies for the mechanical and biological treatment of waste, will significantly reduce potential reliance on landfill and incineration.