Waste plant 'too large' says MEP

Sita has promised to reduce by 90% the amount of waste going to tips

A proposed incinerator taking rubbish from around Cornwall has been criticised by a county MEP.

Conservative Caroline Jackson is critical of large incinerators such as the one proposed by French firm Sita at St Dennis.

She says they increase the number of miles travelled by refuse lorries and lead to increased public opposition.

She recommends small local plants like those in Denmark which process up to 60,000 tonnes of rubbish each year.

Politicians 'lack courage'

Sita has been awarded a £500m 30-year contract to manage the county's waste disposal and recycling.

The company is contracted to recycle or compost all materials separated by householders.

Remaining waste will be treated in a proposed energy from waste plant, or incinerator, which the firm says will reduce by 90% the amount of waste going to tips.

In a report written as the head of a European Parliament Committee on new EU waste rules, Mrs Jackson also urges local councils to make recycling easier for householders, although they should be able to charge a separate fee for rubbish collection.

She said: "The trouble is that Britain's national politicians, of all parties, lack courage on this issue.

"They know recycling alone won't do the trick in diverting the amount of waste from landfill that we are committed to.

"But they have allowed Green fundamentalists to demonise incineration and spread misinformation about it."

She said EU laws enforced "very high" emission standards.

She said: "The EU energy crisis means that it is madness to pass up the chance to use our waste as a safe fuel."

Cornwall County Council says emissions from modern incinerators are safe.