Progress made on Rathcabbin waste removal

The total amount of waste removed from the former Shannon Vermi-Composting (SVC) facility in Rathcabbin up to the end of last February was 20,488.13 tonnes.

The removal of waste from the Rathcabbin site to Tipperary Co Council's landfill at Ballaghveny commenced in December 2021. A total of 3,017.72t of waste from SVC Rathcabbin was accepted at Ballaghveny in the first two months of this year. The SVC waste removal is estimated to be 58% complete, based upon a total of 35,000t of waste at the site.

The council's most recent Environment management report states the mixing of the SVC Rathcabbin waste within the landfill cell was difficult during prolonged periods of wet weather. This was most noticeable again during January of 2023, where the waste deposited within the cell became too soft for machinery to track over the waste.

Monitoring of the Ballaghveny landfill in compliance with its waste licence conditions is ongoing. The wedge cell is currently being filled with contaminated soil and stone and wood ash, which is being mixed with stabilised waste from the Rathcabbin site.

"The landfill has accepted in total 7,646t of waste up to February 28, 2023," the management report states. "This is 15.6% of our licensed intake limit of 49,000t/a."

The amount of leachate, or liquid that drains from a landfill, produced this year at Ballaghveny increased (+27%) on the same period last year. The value of the Community Gain Fund arising from the waste accepted during 2022 is expected to amount to €62,000 and will be made available for distribution in 2023.