Whitestown Landfill Clean-Up Costs Reach Almost €18m As High Court Approves Latest Remediation Plan

Friday, 7 August 2026 16:27

By Mark Hanbidge

Wicklow County Council estimates the remaining remediation programme could cost between €32 million and €38 million between 2026 and 2031.

Almost €18 million has been spent on remediation works at the former illegal landfill at Whitestown in west Wicklow, with tens of millions more expected to be required to complete the clean-up.

New correspondence provided by the Department of the Environment to the Public Accounts Committee shows Wicklow County Council incurred €17.91 million in remediation costs at the site since 2013.

Around €7.8 million in funding was provided to the council through the National Landfill Remediation Grant Scheme between 2013 and 2025, while legal costs associated with the long-running case are separate from those figures.

The latest developments come as the High Court continues to oversee the remediation of the site.

In a judgement delivered last month, Justice Richard Humphreys approved elements of the remediation plan covering Zones D, E, F and G, subject to further testing and verification around the boundaries with known landfill areas.

The court also confirmed that environmental monitoring is to continue for 12 months following completion of the remediation works, while measures must be taken to identify and protect species affected by work at the site.

The case is due back before the High Court in October.

Wicklow County Council estimates the remaining remediation programme could cost between €32 million and €38 million between 2026 and 2031.

Testing of material intended for removal began in June, with waste expected to be transported to licensed facilities as the excavation programme progresses.

The Whitestown site, near Baltinglass, operated as an unauthorised landfill for a number of years before closing in 2001 and has since been the subject of lengthy legal and environmental proceedings.

The Department says responsibility for carrying out the remediation rests with Wicklow County Council, while its own financial involvement has been through capital funding under the National landfill Remediation Grant Scheme.