8,500 tonnes of waste transported from Rathcabbin

 
8,500 tonnes of waste have been transported from the former company Shannon Vermicomposting in Coolross, Rathcabbin during the last couple of months.

“Well done on the work you are doing in Rathcabbin”, commented Cllr Michael O'Meara to the executive during a recent Nenagh Municipal District meeting. “It is virtually seamless with the community. There doesn't seem to be any issue with the community.

“In a short period, already eight thousand five hundred tonnes have been removed from the site.”

Tipperary County Council is presently transporting four truck-loads of waste per day from Rathcabbin to Ballaghveny landfill site a few kilometres east of Nenagh. It is the endgame of a saga which has been ongoing since 2003. In the latter half of 2003 locals began complaining about an “appalling smell” coming from the Shannon Vermicomposting site which was just located outside Rathcabbin village.

“This was a hugely contentious issue in 2003 and 2004," said Cllr O'Meara. "It's been a very longrunning saga.”

Council official Kieran McKenna said the 8,500 tonnes moved so far is about 20 to 25% of the total waste at the Coolross location.

He pointed out that this 8,500 tonnes is 350 loads or 700 traffic manoeuvres passing through the village. "The community has been very understanding,” commented Mr McKenna. “It's going very well.

“We have a Community Gain Fund to give to the community living in the vicinity of the Ballaghveny Landfill. We are looking for expressions of interest. The Ballymackey Environment Group have been talking to us.”

In 2003 Shannon Vermicomposting received planning permission for ten mushroom tunnels and ten composting units. Under that permission, the composting units were to supply compost for the ten mushroom tunnels. However, after only operating for a short while local councillors pointed out that the company had grown way beyond what was stated in the planning permission and there was unauthorised waste material now on the site, being driven in by trucks from various locations in 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 very large amount of material stockpiled on concrete slabs and adjacent lands. This material was stored in large piles of approximately 35,000 cubic metres under plastic covers. The plastic covers were kept in place with approximately 21,500 tyres of varying sizes (car, lorry and oversized tyres). Approximately 189 cubic metres of leachate was also stored in 22 underground tanks (the leachate was subsequently removed by Tipperary County Council).

Cllr O'Meara last week said the locals were pleased to see the waste removal work finally happening after such a long wait, a wait of 17 years.
“Once all the waste has been removed,” he added, “we'll be asking the Council executive to upgrade the small backroads, which weren't designed for this kind of heavy traffic.”