All the waste of the West: Superdumps in east Galway

galway | environment | news report Thursday November 04, 2004 15:11 by Terry - NUIG Ecology Society/Galway Grassroots/Anarchist Federation/Organise! (personal capacity) room101ucg at yahoo dot co dot uk

The story of superdumps in Ballinasloe.

The rural hinterland of Ballinasloe, east county Galway, already has one landfill dump, operated by the county Council, when this closes there are plans to open another, and the small townland of Cross, New Inn, Ballinasloe, had a council dump for 18 years until it was closed by popular demand 5 years ago.
5 miles from that dump a new superdump is to be built by Greenstar Recycling, formerly Celtic Waste, the first private company to operate landfills in Ireland, which is part of the group of companies owned by the people who bring you toll roads, NTR or National Toll Roads.

The site is a wild piece of bog, 30 miles from Galway city, part of a picturesque countryside seeped in history and largely untouched by development. The proposed restoration of Woodlawn big house, a decrepit gentry estate, has been hindered by the fact it is near by the superdump site. There is considerable local opposition to the development, which is to be on land adjoining an organic farm, and the site flooded only last week, which is hardly safe.

Apart from the opposition to landfill per se, the problems with locals are familiar, having had the other one for 18 years, there are also traffic issues related to this development. The trucks going to this site will go past two schools, both a primary and a secondary, and through Cappataggle Cross, recognised by the NRA as one of the most dangerous black spots in the country. The Western Regional Fisheries Board expressed concerns over a river, going through the site, a tributary of the Dunkellin River, which runs into the sea at Clarinbridge, next to a very strong oyster-growing industry. Of course animals in the adjoining lands drink from this stream. Also landfills contribute to global warming via their production of methane.

Two years ago allegations surfaced that a prominent local campaigner was offered a bribe by Greenstar to desist from his opposition, he refused and gave the story to the media.

For the first day of the Galway Races last summer residents mounted an innovate protest consisting of a car convoy driving very slowly down one section of the main Dublin to Galway road.

NUI Galway law student Ann Marie Kelly ran as an independent candidate on a shoe string budget against the super dump development in June’s local elections. She garnered 250 first preferences and several thousand number 2s and number 3s. Her platform was that whoever you vote for it doesn’t matter, as they don’t have the power, drawing attention to the fact that the Waste Management Act has removed powers over waste from the elected councils and given them to the centrally appointed county manager. She is now attempting to mount a legal challenge on the constitutionality of this act.

Niamh Clune of the Zero Waste Alliance spoke at a well attended meeting in the area in early October, outlining the alliance’s alternative to landfill and incinerators. This is for ‘resource recovery parks’ wherein 90% of waste is recycled locally (as opposed to exported to China), and the rest treated.

It is thought construction will begin on the Greenstar superdump in about one month.