A group campaigning against a proposed landfill in Waterford has said a British study shows landfills put public health at risk.
Mr A.J. O'Donnell, chairman of the Lickey Concern Group, which opposes a plan to locate a "superdump" at Garrynagree, near Dungarvan, said the Government could not ignore the findings of the study.
The Government was persisting with the use of landfills "simply because that has been the way for years" and it was unable to adjust its thinking, he claimed. "It's obvious from these findings that public health has been affected for years." The group is awaiting the outcome of a High Court action to prevent local authorities from siting a landfill, designed to cater for waste from Waterford city and county.
A landfill is needed to replace three existing dumps, the city landfill at Kilbarry and county dumps at Tramore and Dungarvan, which are at the end of their lifespan.
The results of the British study were welcomed by the Inagh Anti-Landfill Group in Co Clare yesterday.
The group's secretary, Ms Perry Long, said pollution and the effect on people's lives, including health, disruption and nuisance from scavengers, had formed the basis of the opposition to the dump since it was first proposed three years ago.
"A large segment of the population are into recycling and looking after the environment, but the council has not reacted in any meaningful way. There is no concerted plan for alternatives to landfill and incineration."
The group plans to take a High Court challenge to the compulsory purchase order (CPO) granted by An Bord Pleanala.