Mr. Mark Griffin:

Incineration is at the peak of the waste hierarchy. It goes reduce, reuse, recycle, recovery and then disposal of the residue. Either landfill or incineration is needed to dispose of the residual municipal solid waste or whatever other waste exists. Our objective is and will be to increase the level of recycling and to reduce the amount going to landfill. The targets coming from the EU are making the obligations much more onerous. The operations at Poolbeg generate approximately 86 MW of energy, which goes onto the national grid. Mr. Manley's team has just completed the first round of allocations through the climate action fund. Part of that involves the development of a district heating system in Poolbeg. The waste heat coming out of Poolbeg will be used to heat homes within the area. It is a more sustainable model than simply burning the waste.