New Inn, near Loughrea, was recommended last night by Galway County Council as the site for a new "superdump".
The site, some 12 kilometres from Loughrea, will be close to the new N6 route between Dublin and Galway and will be able to take up to 1.5 million tonnes of municipal waste over a 10 to 15 year period. It will replace the existing landfill at Poolboy, Ballinasloe, which is due to close in 2005.
The recommended location was submitted by RPS-MC O'Sullivan consulting engineers to Galway County Council's strategic policy committee on environmental and conservation services.
The engineers said that an outer surrounding "buffer" zone of some 250 metres around the landfill had also been advised.
The location will be subject to planning procedures, and to a full environmental impact statement, the consultants said. This will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála for approval.
Fine Gael county councillor, Mr Michael Mullins, expressed disappointment at the decision. He stressed that the location had not been selected by county councillors, following the Minister for the Environment's decision to "take this power away" in relation to waste management.
New Inn was one of three sites shortlisted by the consultants as part of the 2001 Connacht waste management plan, which also includes provision for an incinerator or thermal treatment in Galway. The plan recommended developing two new landfills in the province - one in south Connacht to serve County Galway and Galway city and one in north Connacht, to serve Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Leitrim.
"Recycling rates in Galway city and county are amongst the highest in the country and have already led to a significant reduction in household waste being sent to landfill," Mr PJ Rudden, director of RPS-MCOS consulting engineers, and author of the Connacht waste management plan, said.
"A new landfill will still be required, however, because the landfill at Ballinasloe is due to close in 2005. The waste management plan aims to achieve 48% recycling across all of Connacht, with just 19% of waste going to landfill and 33% being thermally treated, generating energy from the waste."
