It may be due to events elsewhere in Europe but the latest twists in the awful story of BSE are about to place what may be an intolerable strain on Ireland's waste management system.
Beginning today, up to 750,000 cattle in the national herd may be culled - yet there is no adequate way of disposing of the carcasses under present circumstances.
The total bill for the Government will be £300 million-plus this year alone, as vast amounts of material build up and have to be stored.
Suspect BSE material cannot be landfilled, and there is no large-scale thermal treatment process or incinerator available in the State to deal with it. Little or none of it is exportable.
In the first of a three-part news feature series, Irish Times correspondents look at the implications of the crisis for our environment and for Irish agriculture. They highlight the difficult choices ahead, and re-examine the vexatious issues of incineration, the particular difficulties the waste issue poses for beef farmers, and possible solutions in the form of new technology.