Environmental Plan 'Rubbished'

Belfast City Council has voted against plans to build a waste incinerator on land it owns on the north foreshore at Belfast Lough.

The result of last night's meeting appears to fly in the face of public opinion, which had previously been shown to support such an initiative.

However, councillors voted for a mechanical biological waste treatment centre at the site instead.

The news comes after local representatives had already rejected the incinerator plans earlier this month, but the casting vote had been wrongly attributed to a councillor who was not at the meeting, and a further vote was required.

In the vent, a total of 45 out of 56 councillors turned up for the ballot on Monday, which was defeated by 26 votes to 19.

Councillors voted 23 to 21 in favour of the mechanical biological centre which prepares refuse for landfill or burning.

The issue cut right across party lines with former Stormont Environment Minister Sammy Wilson, who previously abstained from voting, supported the plans, while his DUP colleague Nigel Dodds voted against it.

Arc 21, a group of councils in the east of Northern Ireland, wanted the council to accept its proposal so the facility could be built by 2016.

The incinerator would have been Energy from Waste (EfW) plant which Arc 21 said could have provided power for 40,000 homes.

A public consultation exercise had been carried out by the council, in which the majority of respondents backed the incinerator plan.

The decision leaves councils in Northern Ireland with a dilemma as EU rules mean they need to drastically reduce the amount of rubbish going into landfill or face fines.

The argument centres of the way that some environmentalists have argued that more recycling is needed instead of burning rubbish.

See: Belfast Incinerator Debate Hots Up

(BMcC/JM)