Could rubbish collected from Dublin city be used to generate power by the ESB at the Ringsend station?
A German company believes that they have the key to an industrial process which can convert rubbish into combustible fuel to power the Electricity Supply Board's (ESB) generating station at Ringsend.
The city dumps three hundred thousand tonnes of garbage each year.
The German company, Combustion Equipment Associates (CEA) has put forward proposals for the development of a processing plant on a five acre site beside the Ringsend ESB plant. They say they can turn one tonne of garbage into have a tonne of eco fuel, a type of powdered fuel, which has a heat value somewhere between that of coal and turf.
Where there's muck, there's money.
A briefing session took place today for public representatives and officials with the primary objective of providing information and reassurance.
The proposal is being made by a group of German scientists. One of the company's directors, Franz Pelzmann, is optimistic about what can be achieved. He says that the fuel is not dangerous, the plant itself will be a very low profile building and that there are no emissions in the form of fumes. A similar plant is currently being designed in the United States and will be located in the heart of a city.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 19 November 1976. The reporter is Derek Davis.
