It is to be hoped that the passive and relaxed approach of most Dubliners towards waste management in their city will have been jolted by yesterday's warning from Dublin Corporation. The message from the Corporation's Cleansing Division was delivered in commendably forthright terms; Dublin is generating far too much waste and its citizens should brace themselves for a waste management crisis - unless remedial action is taken. It is abundantly clear that the current situation in which the average family generates one tonne of waste - the equivalent of 100 refuse sacks per annum - is unsustainable. Dublin faces a colossal task in building an effective waste-management strategy. The scarcity of landfill sites, the underdeveloped nature of our recycling infrastructure and the continued failure to build an incinerating plant in Dublin militates against immediate short-term solutions. This is why Dublin Corporation's decision to distribute its guide "The Art of Waste Prevention" to householders is so welcome. The guide places a strong emphasis on the need for a greater sense of personal responsibility in waste management. Some of its recommendations are straight-forward. It exhorts Dubliners to separate their refuse for recycling, where possible; to use their own shopping bags and to avoid disposable items. Other recommendations will probably be seen as somewhat ambitious; citizens are advised to start an "ecology store" in their home and every household is advised to build a compost heap.
Certainly, there is an onus on each household to improve its waste management. A situation in which some 50 per cent of suburban litter can be traced back to poor presentation of refuse sacks for collection is intolerable. It may be that there are insufficient recycling facilities and that the State should be more interventionist in this area. But much would be achieved if each household heeded some of the practical steps recommended by the Corporation. Citizens in other EU states - where there appears to be a higher sense of civic responsibility - adopt these measures as a matter of course. There is no reason why we should be allowed to see our waste as someone else's problem. A coherent waste-management strategy for the Dublin area would also help. A team of consultants is now examining the most appropriate response to the city's waste problem. It is expected that the consultants will make the case for more recycling and incineration, with landfill sites playing a secondary role. Few would dispute the wisdom of such an approach. The scarcity of land-fill sites will continue - even with the very belated opening of the new dump at Kill, Co Kildare . Recycling can only be partially successful as an astonishing 40 per cent of household waste is food, which has to be dealt with.
It may be that incineration represents the best long-term solution. Although the favoured site in west Dublin appears ill-advised, the proposal made by the last Government for an incinerator/power station has much to recommend it - provided environmental concerns are assuaged. It would allow the burning of huge quantities of waste which would otherwise be dumped and in the process generate energy without the use of oil and coal.