I would like to reply to Onyx's claim that an incinerator in Newhaven would have little impact there.

Our waste has to be disposed of but it doesn't have to be burnt. Onyx speaks of "turning waste into a resource". The waste is already a resource. But instead of preserving the Earth's resources, it proposes to burn them and produce tonnes of carbon dioxide, which causes global warming.

A recycling rate of 70 per cent can be achieved. So, waste need not be burnt. About a quarter of the average dustbin is kitchen waste, which could be composted, but it will just get burnt if the plan is not stopped - what a waste of a valuable resource.

Austrians compost 40 per cent of their waste and if they can, we can. Having composted and recycled, there is little left to be disposed of - probably about the same as the toxic ash left by an incinerator, which would have to be transported out of the county.

Onyx claims 224 HGVs carrying waste each day will generate a minimal increase in traffic.

In fact, it would be about 25 per cent. Even now, when the swing bridge is open, Newhaven has tailbacks to Peacehaven and Seaford and the ring road is at a standstill.

Onyx says the plant will "comply with stringent emission controls, monitored by the Environmental Agency". In fact, the deadly dioxins and furans only have to be measured twice a year. How stringent is that?

Newhaven residents are rightly concerned they could have an incinerator on their doorstep. Those in Seaford are worried the wind will blow pollution over them and that it will spread up the Ouse Valley to Lewes as the dioxin flies.

-Alan Denyer, Newhaven