The Government has been urged to ban the export of ash from incinerators and insist on the material being treated in Ireland.
If the proposal from the Irish Waste Management Association were to be accepted, it could have major implications for the planned incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin.
The IWMA represents private waste collectors and they project that Ireland will shortly have to deal with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of incinerator ash.
It argues that as Ireland does not have a facility to deal with this substance it will have to be exported, which is bad for the environment and will result in higher bin charges.
The IWMA points to a new EU Directive, which demands the principle of 'self sufficiency' is observed, and it has called on Environment Minister John Gormley to act.
A ban would have implications for the Poolbeg plant because the Dublin Local Authorities plan to export the ash by ship.
If Poolbeg's ash has to be treated in Ireland, it could significantly increase traffic movements around the plant and raise questions about its planning permission.
