 Hedon does not want a waste incinerator on its doorstep |
The East Yorkshire market town of Hedon is not looking forward to the waste disposal Christmas present that is being prepared by the local council.
Just 10 minutes drive away East Riding Council, and the neighbouring authority for the City of Hull want to build an incinerator together which will burn millions of tons of household waste every year.
"We do not want this," Hedon Town Council's Mayor John Dennis tells the Politics Show for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
"There has always been industrial activity on the site and we feel this area is being used as a dumping ground for all the things the rest of the region does not want."
 Money for Nothing: rubbish converted into electricity |
The site, on the banks of the Humber Estuary at Salt End already has a big chemical processor, a power station and a sewage treatment plant.
A private waste management company, backed by the two councils, is working hard to convince locals that the incinerator is desperately needed and will not be a problem for its neighbours.
Every home in the area has been sent a consultation document which explains the pressure to cut the amount of rubbish being buried on landfill sites.
The charm offensive also explains, without ever using the words "incinerator" or "burn", that the proposed "thermal conversion plant" will also pay its way by generating electricity.
The arguments on the Humber Estuary are being repeated across the North of England as local authorities face up to the fact that they will not be able to meet tough new limits on the use of landfill set by both our Government and the European Commission.
Over in North Yorkshire, Andrew Waller says incinerators might be the only way to get rid of our household rubbish.
As the councillor in charge of refuse policy for the city of York, he says: "You cannot just sprinkle magic fairy dust and get rid of our rubbish.
"We have done quite well with our recycling policy and expect to hit 30% soon with a target of half recycled in the next couple of years.
"But what do we do with the rest?"
A Consultant's report for the whole of North Yorkshire has put forward several options of how to handle the problem.
A public consultation exercise finishes in January 2006 but it is likely that North Yorkshire will see at least one incinerator built in the county.
The Politics Show
Let us know what you think.
Join presenter Cathy Killick for Politics Show on Sunday 15 January 2006 at Noon.
Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
click here to view the Politics Show Yorkshire and Lincolnshire 
