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| Incinerator plan defeated again | |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| Belfast City Council has voted against plans to build a waste incinerator on land it owns on the north foreshore at Belfast Lough. | |
| However, councillors voted for a mechanical biological waste treatment centre at the site. | |
| Councillors had already rejected the incinerator plans earlier this month. | Councillors had already rejected the incinerator plans earlier this month. |
| However, it was revealed the casting vote had been wrongly attributed to a councillor who was not at the meeting, and a further vote was required. | However, it was revealed the casting vote had been wrongly attributed to a councillor who was not at the meeting, and a further vote was required. |
| A total of 45 out of 56 councillors turned up for the ballot on Monday, which was defeated by 26 votes to 19. | |
| Councillors voted 23 to 21 in favour of the mechanical biological centre which prepares refuse for landfill or burning. | |
| Dilemma | |
| Former Environment Minister Sammy Wilson, who previously abstained from voting, supported the plans, however, his DUP colleague Nigel Dodds voted against it. | |
| Arc 21, a group of councils in the east of Northern Ireland, wanted the council to accept its proposal so the facility could be built by 2016. | |
| The incinerator would have been Energy from Waste (EfW) plant which Arc 21 said could have provided power for 40,000 homes. | |
| A public consultation exercise had been carried out by the council, in which the majority of respondents backed the incinerator plan. | |
| The decision leaves councils in Northern Ireland with a dilemma as EU rules mean they need to drastically reduce the amount of rubbish going into landfill or face fines. | |
| Some environmentalists have argued that more recycling is needed instead of burning rubbish. |