This article is from page 6 of the 2011-12-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
CLARE County Council will have no landfill facility in operation during 2012, but the aftercare costs associated with the landfill that was located at Ballyduff beg in Inagh have broken through the € 1m barrier for the first time. The Clare People can reveal that Clare County Council has budgeted to spend € 1,122,201 on aftercare maintenance of the controversial landfill facility that has now been shut down – over double the sum they budgeted for and spent in 2011.
These figures are contained in the Draft Budget 2012 that was put before members of Clare County Council this Tuesday by County Manager Tom Coughlan.
The closure of Inagh Landfill last month means that the bill for having a landfill operation in Clare has reduced to zero, as against the € 3,886,535 that was provided for the facility in the 2011 Budget.
However, this significant cost saving is significantly cut by the spiralling maintenance costs associated with the facility, as well as the loss of over € 2m in income to the council because of the landfill’s closure.
The council’s budget has set aside € 1,122,201 for aftercare services, as distinct from just € 482,625 in 2011, which represents a jump of € 639, 576.
“The closure of the landfill will have a significant effect on the budg- et for 2012,” the county manager has revealed.
“The operating costs of the facility will reduce, but provision has to be made for the maintenance of the closed landfill. There will also be a reduction in income at the facility of € 2.1m.
“The closure of the landfill will mean that all waste deposited at our three transfer stations in Scariff, Lisdeen and Ballyduff beg will need to be transferred by licensed waste management companies to landfills outside the county,” he added.
The final cells at the Inagh landfill were filled in November 2011, bringing an end to landfill activity in Clare, but the recycling facilities still remain open, while small quantities of household black bag waste continue to be accepted at the facility.