“Dawn Meats, the continent’s biggest supplier of lamb with clients that have included McDonald’s and Aldi, intends to burn leftover meat and bones at its plant in Ballyhaunis from next year after post-Brexit rules stop it exporting waste to the UK. But leaked documents reviewed by SourceMaterial and Climate Whistleblowers suggest the plant could emit more than the legal limit of sulphur dioxide, which can cause respiratory illnesses.”
SourceMaterial, October 2024
Dawn Meats failed to be upfront about the scale of pollution its planned Ballyhaunis incinerator in Ireland would have produced. The emissions could have breached EU sulphur dioxide limits and this sparked serious public health, environmental, and regulatory concerns.
The Case
Dawn Meats is one of Europe’s largest meat processors, supplying beef and pork products to dozens of countries. Headquartered in Ireland, the company operates numerous slaughterhouses, processing plants, and distribution networks across Europe.
Dawn Meats’ planned to build an incinerator at its Ballyhaunis facility to burn animal by-products and generate energy for the site. The project gained urgency after Brexit made exporting such waste to the UK more difficult.
In 2024, the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a licence setting a sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emission limit at 50 mg/m³, in line with EU regulations. But internal documents from the engineering firm behind the incinerator, projected emissions of around 80 mg/m³, well above the legal limit and higher than the figures Dawn Meats submitted to authorities. These documents, obtained and published by Climate Whistleblowers in collaboration with SourceMaterial and The Irish Times, raised alarms about potential non-compliance with European air pollution standards.
In response, the EPA announced it would review the licence to ensure adherence to the strictest EU rules. Exceeding the limit could endanger public health, particularly children, and cause environmental harm.
Why It Matters
Without these revelations, the public would not have known about the false assurances given by Dawn Meats, nor the serious health and environmental risks posed by the incinerator. Authorities were able to pause the project, preventing potentially harmful emissions and underscoring the essential role of transparency and independent oversight in protecting communities and the environment from industrial pollution.
What was CW’s role?
Climate Whistleblowers played a central role in bringing the Dawn Meats incinerator affair to light. We obtained and verified internal technical documents showing that the planned facility’s sulphur dioxide emissions would far exceed EU legal limits, despite the company’s claims of compliance in official submissions.
CW worked to ensure these findings reached the public and decision-makers by securely sharing the documents with trusted investigative partners at SourceMaterial and The Irish Times. We coordinated the release of the investigation and shaped the framing of the story to highlight its broader environmental implications.
By orchestrating the publication and amplifying its reach, CW helped trigger swift regulatory action: the Irish Environmental Protection Agency announced a review of Dawn Meats’ permit, raising the possibility of revocation.
Throughout, our role was to protect sources, manage the strategic dissemination of information, and ensure the revelations gained the national and policy attention they deserved.