Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has affirmed its position regarding contingency arrangements it has in place regarding the disposal of recyclable materials in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

Following a special Brexit meeting held by the Council in Omagh last week, Chief Executive Brendan Hegarty told the meeting that there may be “no alternative” but to put recyclable waste in question “into landfill” when responding to a question by Sinn Fein Councillor Sheamus Green regarding what contingency plan was in place should a no deal Brexit occur. Currently some recyclable waste is sent to the Republic of Ireland. Under a no deal Brexit this arrangement, it is understood, may come to an end.

“The only contingency plan that I can say to you at this point in time is that at least we are one Council that has some void in a landfill site. If we can’t get the material away there is only one place it is going to go,” Mr. Hegarty said.

A statement released on the Council website said: “Currently, the only material directly sent to the Republic of Ireland is green (garden) waste from the Fermanagh area which is sent to a contractor in Co. Donegal.

“In the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit and that the Council is restricted from sending waste to the Republic of Ireland, the Council could use a number of Northern Ireland based contractors to dispose of green waste energy.

“The Council currently employs a number of contractors to dispose of mixed dry recyclable material. These contractors have a responsibility to put in place contingency arrangements to ensure that they continue to have an outlet for the disposal of mixed dry recyclable materials in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario.

“Fermanagh and Omagh District Council remains totally committed to recycling in all its forms and encourages our residents to continue to recycle at every opportunity by making use of their household blue bin, bottle banks and recycling centres located across the district.

“The option of sending recyclable waste to landfill in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario would only be considered as an absolute measure of last resort and in that context is one that is unlikely to arise. “The Council continues to encourage everyone to maximise their recycling efforts.”