I REFER once more to the controversial incinerator proposal near Hartlebury.

The Conservative Party when in opposition called for a moratorium on the building of new waste incinerators.

They introduced the landfill tax – yet the councils of Herefordshire and Worcestershire still insist on sending food and biodegradable waste to landfill instead of the cheaper method of anaerobic digestion. This is significantly cheaper than burning, produces electricity and reduces the miles waste has to travel.

Incinerators do emit pollutants into the environment. Without the use of heat as with this proposal, incinerators are considered to be primarily waste disposal plants and the electricity produced is not classed as renewable energy.

The method to produce this electricity has not yet been confirmed. The government singled out anaerobic digestion for special encouragement on the grounds that it has significant carbon and energy benefits. When comparing various waste treatment technologies for carbon reduction, incinerators with combined heat and power ranked only 19th out of 24 alternatives, while incineration without heat, as is most common in Britain, is only 22nd out of 24 alternatives.

Financial advice was sought from KPMG at some considerable expense and then that advice was ignored.

What hope of unbiased opinions do we have when the leader of Worcestershire County Council is quoted as saying that he doesn't care how much it costs he just wants it and the previous Leader stating in its very early stages that it was a 'done deal'? The Leader and previous Leader of the county council were part of the very small group which made the decision to buy the land, even though it was within metres of an extremely problematic landfill and was home to much wildlife including European protected species.

With the problems surrounding the site near Hartlebhury was it really worth the quoted figure of £4.5 million paid for it?

Cost, carbon emissions, scale and long distances to travel to one facility at the north of the two counties mean that such large-scale waste incineration may indeed be a 'dying technology'.

C JONES Old Worcester Road Waresley