A new recycling facility in Co Meath has meant that the tonnes of ash generated by the Poolbeg incinerator is no longer being shipped abroad for processing.
Around 650,000 tonnes of waste is burned at the incinerator every year, leaving behind 120,000 tonnes of bottom ash.
That ash had been exported to the Netherlands, but is now being processed at a new plant, run by Panda, at Knockharley in Navan.
The €35 million facility began operating last May.
"This is the first of its kind in Ireland," said Panda CEO Brian McCabe, describing it as an on-island solution in dealing with the residue.
"It's good news because we're dealing with it on our own, we're not exporting the material," he added.
As part of the new process, Panda trucks tip out their waste at Poolbeg, then collect ash there, before delivering it to the new Navan site.
Waste metal is extracted from the ash, with the company expecting to recover around 8,000 tonnes of metal from the 120,000 tonnes of ash it will process every year.
The company said that metal will then be exported abroad, sold as a commodity, refined and eventually be recycled.
Once processed and stripped of metals, the remaining ash is currently being stored at Knockharley with a view to recycle it to be used as an aggregate in the construction sector.
Those behind the project hope they get the go-ahead from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within a year.
"We're storing the residue, until such time that we can get end of waste approval from the EPA, at which time that material will be able to use as a component in the cement and roadway construction", said Mr McCabe, pointing out that recycling of ash is already happening in the UK and in other parts of Europe.
Watch: Brian McCabe: 'It's good news we're dealing with it on our own'
New facility welcomed by operators of Poolbeg incinerator
The new facility has been welcomed by the operators of Dublin Waste to Energy, also known as the Poolbeg incinerator, who said it will provide a long-term, localised solution for the processing of bottom ash.
Project director Kieran Mullins said it will "add significantly" to the waste infrastructure in the country.
"It has significant benefits from an environmental point of view. We have been exporting it into the Netherlands, where they were using it as an aggregate that they were covering in the construction sector, so we see it as a real positive environmental benefit," Mr Mullins said.
"From day one, when the plant was built, it was always our intention that we'd have an on-island solution for the bottom ash aggregate. And it's taken quite a while to get there, but we have got there for up to now," he added.
Mr Mullins described the new facility as a breakthrough, saying the ash it will deal with is a significant amount.
"We take around 600,000 tonnes of waste per annum into this facility. On a Monday to Friday basis, we take in about 2,500 tonnes per day, and we operate 24/7 and so we will burn about 1,800 tonnes of waste per day.
"We manage approximately a third of the country's waste through this facility," Mr Mullins explained.
Mr Mullins expects that it will take another year before full permission is given before the ash can be fully recycled. He also pointed out that the metal salvaged from the ash will still be recycled abroad as there are no appropriate smelting facilities here.
