Northern Irish news round-up

Northern Irish Agency meets new Environment Minister

In his first day (July 1) in his new role, Mr Poots, who previously held the position of culture secretary before being removed in June last year, said he looked to cover “the spectrum of significant issues” covered by his role as environment secretary and claimed there was “much work to be done” in the field of waste management. The minister explained that this would also involve assessing the role that could be played by energy-from-waste in the country's long-term waste management strategy.

Speaking after the briefing, Mr Poots said: “We face heavy financial penalties in the future if we do not hit these targets so it is incumbent on me to ensure that everything practicable is done to deliver a robust waste management strategy.”

Mr Poots replaces Sammy Wilson in the role as environment secretary, who had held the post from June 2008 and has now become minister of finance and personnel.

In addition to meeting with the NIEA, Mr Poots also met with the Planning Service, the Planning and Environmental Policy Group, Local Government Policy Division, the Driver and Vehicle Agency and the Road Safety Division.

Eight council partnership advertises multi-million pound contract

A partnership representing eight Northern Irish councils has started inviting tenders for a contract worth between £120 and £150 million to develop major residual waste treatment infrastructure in the south of the country.

Advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union this week (June 30), the Southern Waste Management Partnership (SWaMP 2008) intends to award a 25 to 40 year contract to a private partner to design, build, operate and maintain pre-treatment facilities, such as mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plants and mechanical heat treatment facilities, and secondary treatment facilities, such as a gasification plant.

However, the tender document outlines that bids “must not include moving grate incineration or fluidised bed incineration facilities”. The deadline for pre-qualification questionnaires to be submitted by bidders if August 8 2009.

SWaMP2008 represents Armagh city and district council; Banbridge district council; Cookstown district council; Craigavon borough council; Dungannon and South Tyrone borough council; Fermanagh district council; Newry and Mourne district council; and Omagh district council. Combined, the eight councils produce 250,000 tonnes of municipal waste each year and almost 200,000 tonnes of household residual waste.

Application submitted for £40m Belfast EfW

A consortium led by skip-hire and waste management firm Irish Recycling Services (IRS) has submitted a planning application to the Northern Irish Planning Service for the construction of a £40 million energy-from-waste plant in Belfast.

The facility, which is intended to process 140,000 tonnes of municipal, commercial and industrial waste each year, is proposed on a site northwest of Belfast city centre within the Antrim borough council boundary. IRS, which is based at Bangor within the Belfast metropolitan area, said that a full Environmental Impact Assessment has been submitted with the proposal and that it had been designed to sink into the existing landscape.

Hopeful of hearing a response from the Planning Service within six months, IRL claims that the plant could be operational within two years of receiving planning permission and that it would be used to serve Belfast and the surrounding area.

Jim Lynas, managing director of IRS, said: “The £40 million investment will initially provide heat to proposed horticultural and data processing facilities. The facility will also provide employment during the construction and operation of the plant and allied facilities.”