Archived. The information on these pages is no longer maintained. Please click here to view the current site.

Waste Management Plan Dublin City EU Logo


What's New

Draft decision by EPA to grant waste licence for the Waste to Energy Plant at Poolbeg

Waste to Energy Plant at Poolbeg is granted permission by an Bord Pleanála

Read More

Quick Links

covantaenergy.co.uk

dongenergy.com

dublinwaste.ie

pleanala.ie

epa.ie

change.ie

Public Involvement

Information Sessions

In response to the questions, issues and concerns that members of the public raised, Dublin City Council began a series of Information Sessions in September 2003. The object of these sessions was to ensure that the community has access to all of the information needed to understand and participate in the Statutory Processes.

These Information Sessions dealt with various aspects of the baseline monitoring, as well as the statutory processes surrounding the project and incineration technologies. The sessions were facilitated and focused specifically on one aspect of baseline monitoring at a time. The following topics were covered in the information sessions:

  1. Information Session 1 - Air Quality (24th Sept 03)
  2. Information Session 2 - Ecology (12th Nov 03)
  3. Information Session 3 - Health (21st Feb 04)
  4. Information Session 4 - Traffic (3rd April 04)
  5. Information Session 5 - Statutory Processes (25th Sept 04)
  6. Information Session 6 - Incineration Technologies (13th Nov 04)
  7. Information Session 7 - Overview of Waste Management in Dublin (15th Oct 05)

The sessions also included information on:

 A number of experts were on hand to discuss any of these issues with interested members of the public.

Information Session 1 - Air Quality

The first information session held was on the topic of air quality.  This provided information to the public about air quality and about gathering the baseline air quality information. There were two presentations on air quality monitoring, one from Martin Fitzpatrick, Dublin City Council and one from Eoin Collins, AWM consultants.  The presentations were followed by a question and answer session.

Mr. Fitzpatrick, the Principle Air Quality Officer in Dublin City Council, provided an overview of the type of work done by his office.  They are responsible for carrying out air quality monitoring throughout the city, ensuring that air quality regulations and limits are enforced and assessing the impact of new infrastructure proposals.  A wide range of pollutants is monitored including Smoke, Benzene, Nitrogen Dioxide, Particulates, Sulphur Dioxide, Lead and Carbon Monoxide, at thirteen locations around the city.  Mr. Fitzpatrick pointed out that the air quality of Dublin City is primarily good, with the main source of pollution being traffic. Mr. Fitzpatrick also provided an overview of what dioxins are, their sources, how they are formed and why they can be a cause for concern. 

Mr. Eoin Collins for AWM Consulting gave the second presentation.  These are a team of independent consultants specialising in air quality management.  Mr. Collins spoke specifically about air quality in the Dublin Region, traffic emissions and pollutants from incineration.  He went on the explain exactly what baseline monitoring is, why it is being carried out, the types of pollutants that are being monitored and the results to date.

Information Session 2 - Ecology

There were two presentations on ecology, one from Erling Poelsin from COWI.  Erling is a marine biologist who works for the company providing environmental and engineering consultancy to the project.  The second presentation is from Eleanor Mayes an ecologist carrying out work in relation to the birds in the Dublin Bay area.

Mr. Poelsin provided an overview of the sources of information used for the baseline monitoring and his presentation highlighted:

Mr. Poelsin concluded by saying that the water quality of Dublin Bay is generally good.  The concentrations of heavy metals are generally low except in the muddy sediments of Tolka estuary where they can accumulate.  There is a rich fauna of benthic invertebrates in Dublin Bay, although the stretch of the Liffey from Kingsbridge to about 1.5.km below Butt Bridge is virtually devoid of fauna, due to poor oxygen conditions. However, further downstream fauna is present and progressively the fauna becomes more normal towards Poolbeg.  Mr. Poelsin also pointed out that Dublin Bay is an important habitat for fish and is a nursery area for several species including dab, plaice, flounder and whiting.  The Bay is also a zone of passage of migrating salmon and sea trout.

Ms. Mayes presentation highlighted the bird species that colonise the Dublin Bay area, what they feed on and the numbers present.  She explained that there are areas of the Bay that are protected under the EU Habitats Directive, for example, Bull Island.  Ms. Mayes listed those bird species present and classified them according their national or international importance. 

Information Session 3 - Health

Information session three examined the potential health impacts for the proposed development.  International toxicologist and medical doctor, Dr. Dieter Schrenk, gave a presentation, which outlined the health impacts of incineration.  Dr. Schrenk has worked with the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a consultant.  In his presentation, Dr. Schrenk said that there are no harmful effects to public health from living in the vicinity of a modern waste incinerator.  He further highlighted that this has been proven by a study in Germany, where exhaustive studies of an area surrounding an incinerator in Augsburg, showed there was no perceptible impact on the environment.  Dr. Schrenk also confirmed that the levels of dioxin are falling throughout Europe, even though the number of waste incineration plants is increasing.  This is due to the better flue gas cleaning and legislation controls imposed on modern incinerators. 

Download a copy of the notes from information session 3

Information Session 4 - Traffic

The fourth information session dealt with the baseline traffic monitoring.  Ms. Geraldine Keary, Associate with environmental and engineering consultants RPS, gave a presentation on this.  Ms. Keary began by giving a broad overview of how traffic baseline monitoring was carried out in the area.  Six junctions were monitored for traffic flows and for all calculations, maximum impact conditions were assumed i.e. all trucks going directly to the plant, in normal working hours, using the most direct route and based on a figure of 200 round trips to the plant each day.  The number of trips includes both the waste going into the plant and the residual ash going out. 

It was stressed a number of times by both Ms. Keary and traffic officials from Dublin City Council, that this is the worst case scenario situation.  In reality, it is likely that a number of mitigation measures will be imposed to reduce the potential impact of traffic on the surrounding area.  Examples of such measures could include maximising use of the M50 for trucks, bulk transportation of waste to cut down on the number of trucks going to the plant and flexible delivery times.

Download a copy of the notes for information session 4

Information Session 5 - Statutory Processes

In order for the proposed incinerator to be built, there are three main statutory processes that must by fulfilled.  These are:

Two presentations were given on the day, which explained to members of the pubic  both the planning application and waste licensing phases.

Ms. Maria Lombard, Director of Planning with planning consultants RPS McHugh, gave the first presentation.  Ms. Lombard gave a step by step breakdown of the procedure that must be gone through in order to obtain planning approval.  Ms. Lombard pointed out that there are many different phases in the planning approval process, which provide ample opportunity for members of the public to become involved.  However, she stressed the importance of timescales throughout the whole procedure.  Submissions and observations must be made by the stated time limit and later entries will not be accepted.  She also pointed out that all submissions and observations must be based on the potential consequences for the environment and on the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. 

Ms. Anne Butler, an independent consultant and former Director with the EPA, gave the second presentation.  Ms. Butler provided an overview of the EPA licensing process and the opportunities it provides for members of the public to get involved.  In addition to getting planning approval, the proposed incinerator must also obtain a licence from the EPA.  This licence, if granted, will set out strict controls and limits with regard to emissions to the environment, which must be adhered to for the facility to operate. Ms. Butler stressed that when the EPA is carrying out its enforcement procedures, it has the power to revoke or suspend a licence if the conditions set down in it are not met.  This would mean a cessation of any activity until measures are put in place to bring the facility back into line with its licensing conditions.  The flow chart below sets out the opportunities for members of the public to get involved in the licensing process.

Download a copy of the notes from information session 5:

Information Session 6 - Incineration Technologies

The final information session looked at incineration technology.  The presentation was given by Gunnar Kjaer who works with COWI, a Danish consultancy that provides specialist expertise in the field of thermal treatment.

In his presentation, Mr. Kjaer outlined the history of incineration, from the very first one built in 1875 through to today's modern incinerators.  He highlighted how, as the years progressed, the incineration technology progressed from simply being a way to get rid of waste, to being a way to produce energy.  In the 1980s and 1990s, people became more aware of the environmental implications of incineration so that today, modern incinerators are highly regulated and operate to the highest environmental standards.

Mr. Kjaer also explained the procurement process that was undertaken by Dublin City Council.  He described the selection process used from the initial 13 'expressions of interest' received, progressing through a short listing procedure, which ultimately identified the preferred service provider, who will design build and operate the proposed incinerator in Ringsend.

Download copies of the notes from information session 6:

Information Session 7

The 7th Information session (click here to download notes) took place on Saturday 15th October in Ringsend Technical Institute. In this Session, the focus was on general waste issues in the region and how the DWTE project forms one part of a fully integrated waste management system. The session started with the top of the hierarchy with presentations on the:

The Dublin Waste to Energy Project: