Council refuses permission for pay-to-use waste compactor at rugby club site

Westmeath County Council has refused permission for the installation of a pay-to-use portable waste compactor on the site of Buccaneers Rugby Club on the Coosan Road.

The council, in a decision issued recently, said the proposed development, on land zoned as open space, would contravene the zoning objective of the Athlone Town Development Plan.

It further ruled that the development on “a prominent and visible location at the front of an existing sporting/recreational complex” would constitute adhoc, piecemeal development which would injure the visual amenities of the area and depreciate the value of property in the vicinity.

A company called BIGbin Waste Tech Ltd had sought planning permission for the placement of what was described as a “pay-to-use portable waste compactor” for residual waste/food waste, and another for mixed dry recyclables, on the site of Buccaneers Rugby Club, Coosan Road.

Based in Waterford, the company promotes itself as a “simple pay-as-you-go alternative to traditional household rubbish and recycling collection services”

A BIGbin uses the equivalent of a car park space and is fully self-contained with no leaks of odours, according to its website, with access only possible when the drum opens when a customer keys in their voucher code, having bought a ticket with a code online or in a shop.

The bins look similar to some clothes recycling facilities and the company website explains that a customer can typically fit two 80-litre black bags or clear recycling bags in either drum per use.

Its website indicates that it has compactors in fifteen counties.

Buccaneers RFC had given permission to the applicant to submit a planning application for the development on its site.

There were two submissions made to Westmeath County Council on the application.

Tom Silke and Paschal Dillon, The Bounty Bar + Restaurant, trading as Silke&Dillon Ltd, objected to the proposal.

They said their concerns as a food and beverage operator related to the location of the project only 50 yards from their main entrance, the visual appearance of the compactor outside the premises, the possibility of leaks, spillages and waste in a car park beside their business and where kids train, the possibility of illegal dumping at the site, the likelihood of rodents being attracted and concerns over the maintenance of the project.

Local resident Padraig O'Rourke, Clonbrusk, said he, and other residents, were “totally opposed to the placement of these compactors in a residential area”. He also said he believed that the development would represent “an environmental hazard to the area and especially to the business operating at the site - Bounty Bar & Restaurant.”