John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Will the Government ignore Mr. McCarthy on this issue? Will the Government plough ahead in the knowledge that Dublin City Council has not properly addressed ash disposal and CO2 emissions, to mention just two issues? Will the Government turn a blind eye? For every three tonnes put into the incinerator, one tonne, which must be disposed of in a landfill, will be returned. Therefore, landfill will always be part of the equation.

The kind of landfill which the Green Party supports would contain no compostibles and would be very different. It would be so different that Professor Paul Connett, a waste management expert, refers to it as "clean fill". This is a landfill in which one sees no rats or seagulls and in which there are next to no leachates or methane emissions. Moreover, if the political will exists, this can be achieved. However, it is quite clear that the political will does not exist because not even the delivery of brown bins has been implemented. Where are the brown bins of which the Minister and others continually speak?

As our knowledge of waste management techniques improve, it is becoming clearer that incineration is not a sustainable technology. How could it be sustainable to use energy to create products and then burn those products, thus wasting energy and creating CO2 emissions? We now have a unique opportunity to avoid making that mistake. It will mean changing the direction of society and the manner in which we conduct our affairs. Built-in obsolescence and the throwaway society must come to an end and industry will be obliged to clean up its act and assume responsibility for the products it makes. Many industries have realised that clean technology, as it has become known, can save money. It makes economic sense not to be wasteful. The argument is often used by proponents of incineration that environmentally friendly countries use it as a means of waste management. However, the same arguments have been used by those who support the nuclear industry.

I refer to another problem of which the Minister has not taken account and to which a "Prime Time" television programme alluded. New evidence has emerged about emissions from incinerators which deal with particulate matter or very small particles. The particulates in question are much smaller than PM10s or PM2.5s. Dr. Staines, who was commissioned by the Government to perform its health studies, has stated that he has reassessed the evidence and now has a different opinion in respect of incineration. He now states that he would oppose incinerators, which is very significant.

It is up to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, and the Progressive Democrats, to put their money where their mouths are. I ask them to vote for this motion, which I commend to the House.

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