NEW European recommendations for more stringent limits on landfill and greater targets for recycling have made the proposed £240 million integrated waste management facility at Mallusk "a matter of urgency".
And the Becon Consortium, the company behind the controversial Becon Project at Hightown Quarry, also welcomed the stance of the DoE's environmental policy division which suggests Northern Ireland will require up to three times more thermal waste treatment capacity if it is to meet the revised requirements.
Figures contained in the EU Commission's 'Communication on the Circular Economy' points to ambitious new targets for reducing landfill waste - down to 10 per cent by 2030 - while increasing recycling capacity to 65 per cent over the same time period.
These targets have been revised from the current rates of 50 per cent of all waste to be sent for recycling by 2020, with 35 per cent going to landfill.
A rough assessment based on the proposals means Northern Ireland would require "around two-to-three times" the current assessed thermal waste treatment needs - up from between 200,000 tonnes to 305,000 tonnes to a maximum of 759,000 tonnes per year, according to the DoE.
The department made its views known in a letter published as part of the recent planning approval granted for increased waste through-put for the Bombardier 'Energy from Waste' facility in East Belfast.
John Ahern of the Becon Consortium said there was now "evidence" that the department recognised the need for increased thermal treatment capacity in Northern Ireland.
"The European proposals set more ambitious targets for recycling and it is important to remember that a significant proportion of the footprint of the Becon project includes recycling infrastructure which could increase arc21’s constituent councils’ overall recycling rates by up to 10 per cent," he said.
"We believe the £240 million Becon project, designed to deal with municipal black bin waste from the arc21 council area, is a vital part of the solution to meet the growing need.
"It will provide the type of proven and reliable infrastructure that Northern Ireland needs to manage its waste and at the same time help it meet European obligations."
The project - thought to sustain hundreds of jobs - is currently the subject of a planning appeal.
If approved by the Environment Minister, the plan will see the Becon Consortium deliver a 'Mechanical Biological Treatment' facility alongside an 'Energy from Waste' (EfW) plant at Boghill Road, similar to waste disposal/electricity generation technology already used in countries across Europe.
