The newly-elected Chairman of the South-East Regional Authority has said that waste management in the region is at crisis point.
John Brennan said landfills were quickly reaching capacity and incineration should be considered to deal with the problem.
He said that despite recycling initiatives, waste capacity was still of serious concern.
Latest figures show that 130,600 tonnes of household waste is produced in the southeast every year, with more than 40,000 tonnes produced by commercial ventures and over 80,000 tonnes of industrial waste.
It is estimated that the majority of landfills in the region will reach capacity levels within the next four years.
The region's waste plan mentions incineration but does not foresee its introduction before 2008.
The strategy for the southeast envisages recycling or re-using up to 60% of the region's waste and disposing of one third by incineration.
