Two of Dublin's local authorities will spend up to €20m each year sending their waste to Co Cavan and Co Kildare from January.
Dublin City Council and South Dublin Co Council say they have to do this because there will be no more landfill space available in the Dublin region from the end of December.
The Councils have now awarded two six-month contracts to Oxygen and Bord na Móna to dispose of their household and commercial waste.
In a statement, Dublin City Council said that its waste plan envisaged that the Poolbeg incinerator would be up and running by now, to deal with the problem.
Assistant City Manager Seamus Lyons said as this was not the case, the Council was obliged to offer short-term contracts to the private sector for the haulage and disposal of the residual waste.
Dublin City Council's statement said that Oxygen will treat up to 25,000 tonnes of the waste between January and June 2011 and use 30% as landfill cover, with the remaining 70% going to a landfill in Corranure, Co Cavan.
Bord na Móna has been awarded a similar six-month contract and will dispose of up to 120,000 tonnes of waste at Drehid landfill in Co Kildare.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Minister John Gormley said the fact that Dublin has had to contract out for waste disposal capacity is a clear indication that the council's waste management plans have failed to deliver the infrastructure required to deal with the capital's waste.
These plans have been in existence for more than a decade.
The spokesperson said it should be noted that the vast bulk of the capital's waste has been disposed of outside of Dublin for more than a decade and it is disappointing to see that the council is continuing this policy.
It is the clearest indication of the need for reform in the waste sector and that is what the minister is delivering, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said a draft waste policy statement was published earlier this year, and the new waste policy will ensure the delivery of sustainable cost-efficient alternatives to landfill throughout the country, whether they be delivered by local authorities or private operators.
