The first delivery of waste has been made to the new Poolbeg incinerator in Dublin.
The facility is expected to become active for the first time by the weekend, eventually dealing with 600,000 tonnes of waste a year.
Many residents remain opposed to the development, which was first proposed 20 years ago.
Graeme McQueen, head of public affairs with Dublin Chamber, says it is a welcome development.
"I don't think there's any ideal way of dealing with rubbish, but it's an inevitability that you do have to deal with it," he said.
"So the incinerator will help us meet the EU targets of public landfill, the amount of rubbish that we send in to the ground.
"The EU has a target of 10% by 2030, so this will allow us to meet that target, hopefully,
"So, there's no ideal way of dealing with rubbish, but hopefully this will provide us with the ideal mechanism to do that."