Poolbeg Incinerator
Immediate Release of Entire Carbon Fraction
A more important factor is the effect which incineration of our waste will have on the planet in the short term up to 2020. The global warming crisis is now acute making this proposed development unsustainable in the true sense of the word.
If proceeded with it will dump instantaneously the entire carbon fraction of Dublin’s waste into the atmosphere causing an immediate increase in the greenhouse gas burden which the biosphere must cope with.
If the same quantity is treated using landfill, with AD of the putrescible fraction, any greenhouse gas release will be significantly delayed with gradual release over some 25 years. Since the global warming crisis will peak in the next 15 years we must as human beings, never mind as Irish people, do all and everything we can to reduce the greenhouse gas burden.
The EIS states (Table 8.5) that in one year the incinerator will release 135,165 tonnes of CO2 equivalent whereas the same waste going to landfill and to AD will release some 5,000 tonnes of CO2 plus some 2,000 tonnes of CH4 (estimates interpolated from Figure 8.1 of Appendix 8.2).
The short term one-year affect of incineration is therefore some 22 times worse than the alternative.
However, the actual carbon released is five times greater than the amount used in the EIS Climate Assessment calculations. This is because the authors use a fossil carbon fraction of 20.6 % in their analysis. The greenhouse gas released in one year by the incinerator is actually:
135,165 / 20.6% = 656,140 tonnes.
A comparable figure for the GHG released in the first year of a landfill with AD is estimated at 35,000 tonnes.
This difference of some 620,000 tonnes per annum cannot be ignored as the global warming crisis is already here.
We suggest that this release of greenhouse gas is unsustainable.
We respectfully request the Board to seek additional information from the applicant to thoroughly analyse this aspect of their proposed development.