'No Kerdiffstown waste' commitment

Waste from Kerdiffstown will not be allowed in the Greenstar KTK landfill at Silliot Hill, Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.

That was the personal commitment from KTK's Kevin Keenan to a well attended meeting in Kilcullen Town Hall last night. He said that as long as one person in the community wasn't happy to see the material in his site, it wouldn't be brought there.

He also said that if the EPA tried to force the company to accept the material, he would fight them. But they had never acted like that in the past, so he didn't expect the situation would arise.

The meeting was called by Kilcullen Community Action at short notice over the weekend, but more than 60 people turned up. Others who weren't able to make it sent messages saying they opposed the plan proposed by the EPA last week to move some of the material from the blazing Naas landfill to Kilcullen.

At the outset of the meeting, KCA's Kieran Forde and Noel Clare detailed how the situation had developed since the first approach to the organisation in the middle of last week, up to a communication with their representative yesterday morning. The EPA declined an invitation to attend last night's meeting. In a conversation with Noel Clare they said that while there had been contingency plans to use KTK last week, there was 'no plan at the moment' to do so, and therefore there was no need for them to attend the meeting.

Paul Carey, who lives near the facility, recalled what he described as an 'alarming' discussion with an EPA representative last week. "They were very much trying to 'sell' us the idea that the waste would be brought to KTK," he said. "I was gobsmacked at what they were proposing." He added that the actions of the Agency in relation to Kerdiffstown had 'let the side down in a big way'. He described the Kerdiffstown situation as a 'disaster', and said that if the material was moved from the site it would be a 'disaster travelling around the county'.

Among the attendance were local representatives Cllr Martin Heydon (FG), and deputies Jack Wall (LAB) and Sean O Fearghaill (FF). In addition to Kevin Keenan, KTK was represented by David Monaghan and Thomas Fingleton.

David Monaghan told the meeting that the facility is in its closing stage, with the southern section currently being finished prior to 'doming'. About 100,000 cu m of material was still needed for this, and some would be commercial waste because the supply of material from the construction industry had dried up. He said they were looking for material similar to what they had taken during the lifetime of the project.

He added that the company had to make sure that was they did 'was 100 percent correct'. "It is vitally important that Greenstar KTK doesn't jeapordise the good relationship we have with the community," he concluded.

Deputy Sean O Fearghaill said the problem was 'trust in the EPA' and he said both the local authorities and the Department of the Environment should monitor the Agency's activities in relation to Kerdiffstown. Deputy Jack Wall said he had been assured by Kildare County Council that no material was being moved, and if there was a change in the plan the local communities 'are to be notified'. Cllr Martin Heydon said Kevin Kelly's clarity was 'very refreshing after the couched language of the EPA', and he added that the local point of view must be put 'very strongly' to all concerned.

It was agreed that KCA would write to the EPA, the Department of the Environment, and Kildare County Council to communicate the determined feeling of the meeting that not only should the Kerdiffstown material not be brought to Kilcullen, but it should not be transported to any other landfill site.

Greenstar KTK hopes to have the Kilcullen site finished and restored before the end of the year, after which their involvement will in a monitoring and caretaking capacity.