No sense in keeping Ballyduff Beg open

KEEPING the landfill at Ballyduff Beg, Inagh, open doesn’t make financial sense, county manager Tom Coughlan told councillors this week.

Several members however have demanded further details be made available, before a final decision on its future is taken.
At the meeting, there was some cynicism from members about the accuracy of information that had been given to the council regarding Ballyduff Beg, at various times.
At the outset, Mr Coughlan said he had approached the matter without bias or favour. “I’m coming at it with no history or emotion attached. I’m only looking at it from an economic point of view and I would ask members to take the same approach,” he said.
He added that when Clare County Council became involved in providing landfill at the site, the situation was very different. He noted that at the time there were charges of over €100 per tonne of waste but prices have now dipped to under €35. He also said that there was a much greater volume of waste but the emergence of private sector contractors and greater levels of recycling had changed the picture.
Mr Coughlan said developing the next phase of the landfill would involve spending around €4 million but that the current circumstances had to be taken into account. He felt the landfill couldn’t reach a break-even position given the reduced levels of business and price.
Mr Coughlan said he doubted it would be possible for the council to get the €4 million needed for the next phase. “If the council decided to develop the next phase, €4 million would have to be sourced from somewhere. If I went to the department looking for it, I don’t think they’d be rushing to approve €4m”.
Councillor Joe Arkins agreed that it isn’t sustainable. “Even if the next phase is developed, it probably wouldn’t pay us to run the landfill as there are big issues around economies of scale.”
He said the council has a responsibility to the people of the area and that the low volume of use has given rise to problems with odours at the site.
Staff at the site would be redeployed to other sections of the council, he added.
The council executive also told the meeting that black bag waste could still be taken at the site, while recycling and composting could continue there.
However, Councillor Patricia McCarthy said not enough information was provided about what would remain at the site following the closure. She said promises had been made and broken regarding the site for many years, while she commented that it looked as if the public could be left at the mercy of private sector operators. Councillor Tommy Brennan said information given to the councillors hadn’t stated anything about accepting plastic bags.
Mayor of Clare Christy Curtin said Councillor McCarthy was correct to seek information, while Martin Conway proposed delaying a decision until more information is available.
Responding to some of the points made, Mr Coughlan said there is no suggestion that black bag waste be landfilled at the site, but that it could be brought to the site before being taken on from there by private operators.
Councillor PJ Kelly said more confusion than certainty seemed to be emerging. “This thing has not been properly sussed out. A shotgun job is being tried here.”
In response to a question, Mr Coughlan said the future of the landfill is ultimately up to the council’s executive, but that he wants councillors and the executive to work in partnership on it. It was decided that the council will discuss the matter again next week with additional information to be provided to the members.