Published: Wednesday, 31st December, 2008 12:00pm

Cavan landfill to open again

The Corranure landfill in Cavan will reopen to waste material in the New Year. A spokesperson from Oxigen Environmental Ltd, the company responsible for operating the landfill, confirmed this week that following consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Cavan County Council, it has been agreed to accept waste material again at Corranure from January 2.

The landfill was closed to non-recyclable waste for the past few weeks, while works were carried out to cap cell 3A and implement measures to prevent the smell that has emanated from the dump in recent months, sparking outrage among residents and businesses in the vicinity of Corranure.

Meanwhile, the campaign by lobby group Cavan Better Waste Management against plans by Oxigen to develop a biological treatment facility adjacent to the landfill site is continuing. Oxigen has applied to the EPA for a licence to operate the new facility, while an application for planning permission for the development is likely to be decided by An Bord Pleanála.

Oxigen has said that the works taken to cap the cell from which the smell is coming will rectify the problem. The company has also claimed that the addition of a biological treatment facility to its operations will divert organic waste from landfill, the very waste that produces the methane gas that causes the offensive smell. The County Manager, Jack Keyes, has also said that Cavan intends to be one of the first counties in the country to move towards the type of biological treatment technology that is commonplace in Europe and which the Council sees as key to diverting waste from landfill.