Incineration is the burning question for East Sussex County Council and it has to make a decision soon.

Landfill sites for rubbish will be full within a few years and there is no way in which most rubbish will be recycled in the foreseeable future despite attempts to make people more aware of its benefits.

That leaves thousands of tons of rubbish to be disposed of and the obvious answer is to burn it.

But the council is hesitating because there is such strong opposition.

Opponents claim incineration is a risk to health. Yet there are energy-from-waste plants in urban areas such as Lewisham in south-east London, which the owners claim are almost pollution free.

Modern plants are a far cry from the one at Leighton Road in Hove, which produced thick clouds of black smoke each day for many years with little complaint, although it caused pollution over a wide area.

East Sussex is hoping residents will follow the example of many councillors and look at some of these sites for themselves in the hope it will make them feel easier about it.

No residents want anything to do with rubbish on their doorsteps.

Even recycling centres can be noisy and disruptive for neighbours.

But the propaganda against incineration has made people particularly uneasy about energy from waste.

In the end, councillors will have to take decisions which are bound to be unpopular. But without them, there will be nowhere in the county for the disposal of its refuse.