Council praised for 'excellent handling' of serious North Tipp environmental problem
Shannon Vermicomposting near Rathcabbin is about 95% empty of its potentially hazardous waste
TIPPERARY County Council was praised during a recent meeting for its “excellent handling” of a long-running, serious environmental problem in the north of the county.
Cllr Michael O'Meara told the May meeting of Nenagh Municipal District that Shannon Vermicomposting near Rathcabbin is about 95% empty of its potentially hazardous waste. “The Council has done tremendous work over the last number of years in tackling this issue,” he remarked. “It has cost the Council about €2.5 million to undertake this clean-up project, which is taxpayers' money.
“I've two questions for the executive. When will the site be completely emptied of all its waste? And what is the legal procedure which we can undertake to recoup that €2.5 million?”
The Councillor was told that there is an ongoing legal case against the company Shannon Vermicomposting and its managing director, and the legal advice is to leave 5% of the waste at the site while the legal case is ongoing. He was also told that there is a “lean” on the property by a number of creditors, including financial institutions and the Council.
“Again, I want to say well done to the Council staff who did such a good job over the last few years in cleaning this waste up," said Cllr O'Meara. "It was done with very little fuss or inconvenience to the locals living in the area.”
A member of the Environment department said the matter is still under Judicial Review. It's believed the former managing director is living in England.
The former Shannon Vermicomposting site covers about ten acres. There are no buildings on site, but some concrete surfacing remains.
In 2003 Shannon Vermicomposting received planning permission for ten mushroom tunnels and ten composting units at the site in Coolross, Rathcabbin. However, after a while, locals began to complain about an “appalling smell” coming from the site and local councillors started pointing out that it was now obvious that the company was going way beyond its planning permission, and unauthorised waste material was being driven into the facility from various locations around Ireland. Eventually the County Council took a successful case against the company in the courts and the company had to close down in 2005. Left behind was a vast amount of waste, covering about 35,000 cubic metres, which the Council began to clear away at the beginning of 2022.
Cllr O'Meara said the road in Derry, Rathcabbin, which is in a poor state after the passage of many trucks during the waste's removal, will be resurfaced next year.