Tag Archives: Waste Management Planning

Might the new Regional Waste Management Plans become obstacles to Waste Infrastructure Development?

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Waste Plan Connacht Ulster Exec Sum CoverSouthern Draft Regional WMP CoverDraft Waste Plan Dublin and Eastern Region Exec Sum Cover

Waste management planning has come a long way since it was first mooted in the early 1970s. At that time, the private sector waste industry was very much in its infancy, with the collection and disposal of non-hazardous waste being viewed as a public service. While this approach is still the norm in some EU states, the position in others has changed significantly. This is particularly the case in Ireland, with the virtual withdrawal of local authorities from waste collection and waste infrastructure provision.

The requirement for EU states to produce waste plans was contained in the original Directive on Waste (75/442), being continued to this day by the most recent version of that Directive (2008/98). However, as set out above, the context of waste planning has changed significantly, with the original “command and control” approach to the provision of waste collection and disposal infrastructure being subject to two key challenges:

  • A much more complex waste management system now exists, which has moved from quite localised waste collection-disposal catchments to an extensive and intricate system of waste recycling, intermediate and final processing and waste recovery, coupled with EU-wide and, for certain recyclables, global waste transport;
  • Various forms of commercial competition between different private sector waste collectors and infrastructure providers has become the norm in many countries, with this system perhaps exhibiting its most extreme version in Ireland.

In the penultimate week of November, all three Draft Regional Waste Management Plans were launched for public consultation.  Copies can be found at the following links, with the consultation period ending on 30th January 2015:

A key issue that all stakeholders in waste management in Ireland will be looking at is how the plans handle the issue of the provision of future waste infrastructure. This matter is addressed in Part 3 of each Plan. Already, concerns about the approach being taken have been raised by representatives of the waste industry, both in the pre-consultation period and since then. It would seem that a particularly vital issue concerns how the “need” issue is being portrayed; in other words, how the plans approach the key question of what infrastructure is required over the next 5-10 years, where it is needed and how much of it is needed. Continue reading →