Kelly: Farmers to benefit from new waste facilities in Ireland

Irish farmers will benefit from the development of a number of new waste recovery and conversion to energy facilities in Ireland, ahead of EU plans to completely eliminate plastic landfilling by 2025, according to Sean Kelly MEP. “The EU is working on plans to phase out landfilling of plastic waste by 2025. Currently, 25 Million tonnes (Mt) of plastic waste is generated in the EU annually. Only a quarter of that is recycled, half is landfilled and the rest is incinerated.

“The EU ‘zero landfill’ policy is an ambitious one, and will be particularly relevant to farmers and other parties in Ireland.  However, there is good news with plans to develop new waste to fuel recovery  facilities across the country,” Mr Kelly said of Portlaoise-based Trifol Resources Limited  plans to develop a number of new processing plants in Ireland over the next five years and at a capital cost of €54 million. 

When commissioned, the plants will process 42,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year generating 40 million litres of fuel (valued at €28 million, excluding taxes and duties) and will be a direct import substitution for fossil fuels.  The feedstock for the plants will come from segregated and recovered domestic, commercial and farm plastic waste.

“This is an enormous undertaking and will be of immense value to farmers and rural communities and the Irish economy in general,” the Ireland South MEP said while hosting a special Innovation in Energy, Environment and Agriculture event in the European Parliament, Brussels this week.