A criticism by Northern Ireland MEP Jim Alister in the European Parliament today, Monday, February 12th that waste from South of the border was being dumped in the North, and that the polluter should pay principle should apply, was met with a strong rejoinder by Independent MEP Marian Harkin who insisted that waste dumping was a two way cross-border process.

Marian Harkin said that illegal dumping knew no borders and that it had to be combated by increased vigilance by the authorities on both sides of the border.

In a debate on an EU Waste Directive the Independent MEP said that the proposal to reclassify incineration as a recovery activity rather than disposal, sent out all the wrong messages.  It undermined the principle of waste prevention, re-use and recycle, she said.

The place to deal with incineration was in the forthcoming directive on incineration where issues such as permits could be fully discussed and teased out.  There were different issues in different countries with regard to incineration but to suggest reclassification in a waste directive was to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut, Independent MEP Marian Harkin said.