Two IBC tanks of diesel wash waste were recently removed by local authorities from Co. Monaghan.

The two tanks, weighing approximately 1t each, were found dumped in the area of Broomfield, near Castleblayney, in the south of the county.

Environmental officers from the Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District worked with fire fighters to move the waste to the quarantine area of the Scotch Corner landfill, according to county council officials.

The hazardous waste will then be exported to facilities abroad, believed to be Germany, for incineration.

The incident, which occurred on Saturday, March 23 last, is the second such disposal to be found this year following the discovery of an earlier 1t tank.

However, such discoveries are well down on previous years. Just eight instances of diesel waste dumping were discovered in 2018; down considerably on the 103 instances recorded in 2014.

The drastic reduction is believed to be due to the introduction of a new tracer ingredient added to diesel approximately three years ago, according to authorities, which apparently cannot be removed by criminals in the normal “washing” process.

Though no samples have as of yet been taken of the most recent discovery, previous dumped waste typically contained mixes of both Irish ‘green’ and UK ‘red’ agricultural diesel.