Councils failed to investigate alternatives to incineration when they drew-up waste plans, a public inquiry was told.

Former Brighton and Hove councillor Steve Collier said the controversial blueprint had been constructed around mass burning of rubbish.

He said councillors and officials had only seen burners, rather than alternative technologies, in visits organised by Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex County Council.

He said: "They have visited three incinerators but at no time have any visits been made by either council to an anaerobic digester."

Mr Collier said an incinerator proposed at North Quay, Newhaven, would increase the number of lorries on the roads, create unnecessary pollution and disposing of left over toxic ash would be costly.

Newhaven resident Christine Sinclair said there would also be a build-up of toxic residues in the food chain and a burner would add to global warming.

She said the two councils, whose plans are being examined at the inquiry, should follow global best practice and adopt a zero waste policy.

Fellow Newhaven resident Joelle van Tinteren said council officers started looking for incinerator sites 26 years ago.

She said: "This strategy has been in the minds, if you like, of the executive since 1977 and we don't seem to have moved on."

The comments came as more than a dozen individual objectors addressed the hearing.

Alan Denyer compared the 40 per cent recycling target in the plans with 47 per cent already being achieved in the Netherlands, 52 per cent in Belgium and 64 per cent in Austria.

David Rooke said the Environment Agency did not know whether modern incineration was safe and all burners had exceeded emission levels at times.

He said: "The people of Newhaven are going to get a double whammy, they are going to get lorries and they are going to get incineration. Aren't they lucky."

The waste plans include burner sites at Newhaven and at Mountfield Mine, near Robertsbridge.

Contractor Onyx Aurora, which has already signed a £1 billion waste disposal contract with the councils, only wants to build at Newhaven.

Thursday June 26, 2003