The proposed plant could process 70,000 tonnes of refuse a year

The Board of Administration is asking the States to approve plans for a plant which it has said would cost �72m and could be up and running by 2006 at Longue Hougue.

The sursis, proposed by Douzainier Michelle Levrier, aimed to stall the discussions until a Solid Waste Management Plan was produced early in the new year.

It was eventually defeated by 31 votes to 19 in the States.

I don't like this project ... but I don't see the practical alternative Deputy Peter Roffey

The Board of Administration's proposed new plant could process up to 70,000 tonnes of refuse a year and provide 10% of the island's electricity.

But Douzainier Levrier thinks the plan, due to come before the House early next year, needs to be discussed more before the island commits to a mass burn incinerator.

She said: "We're considering placing an extortionate tax on islanders, one which they'll be unable to avoid by legal means, no matter how green they want to be."

She was also concerned about what the finished plant would look like, previously saying it is more likely to look like an incinerator from the outside than being disguised, as previously planned, and up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall.

She said: "We're no longer talking about an artistically disguised piece of architecture on our east coast, right next to where the cruise ships moor.

"We're now talking about a rectangular box with a chimney which will stand three times the height of any other building in the area."

The President of the Board of Health, Deputy Peter Roffey, spoke against the sursis. He criticised the plans but said the there was no other choice available over waste management.

He said: "I don't like this project. I don't like the cost of it, I think it's horrendous. I don't like the building, I think it's going to be horrible.