A plan to use one of Europe's largest man-made holes for a landfill site and recycling plant have been rejected by councillors in Fife.

There were emotional scenes as some of the 2,000 people who had objected to the application by Alba Resource Recovery heard the news.

The company was asking for permission to use the former open-cast mine at Westfield, near Cardenden, and may now appeal to the Scottish Executive.

Council officials had recommended that the request be approved subject to 90 conditions but the environment and development committee voted nine to six against.

Scotland's recycling record is poor

The 1,000-acre site has lain derelict since open-cast mining ended. Local people want it to be restored but not at any price.

The record number of objections were based mainly on fears for their health and the environment caused by refuse being brought to Fife from across Scotland.

After the vote Fife Council's William Kay said: "I think everyone was a bit like myself in that they were torn two ways.

"On one side there was the prospect of restoration which we were very keen to have.

"On the other hand landfill is a bad neighbour and there is no getting away from that. People would have had to put up with a form of landfill for the next 30 years."

The company said it would most likely appeal the decision once it had received the full grounds for refusal.

Lorna Bett, of The Fife West Action Group, said: "We have stuck together as a team because we believed in our area and the people in our area.

"We are absolutely over the moon, especially because the councillors made up their own mind and they didn't want to be railroaded."

Scotland has the worst recycling record in Europe and environmentalists claim the nation has become "the laughing stock".

'Throwaway society'

Meanwhile, the Environment Minister, Ross Finnie, has launched a five-week campaign urging people to help reduce the growing waste problem.

It is the latest phase of the Scottish Executive's �3m "Do a Little, Change a Lot" initiative.

Scotland currently sends nearly 12 million tonnes of waste to landfill sites every year and only 6% of household waste collected by local authorities is recycled.

According to statistics:

• Only 12% of household waste in England is recycled or composted

• In Wales the figure is 8%

• The average in Scotland is 7%

• The worst area is the Western Isles in Scotland which recycles less than 1% of all waste.

Mr Finnie said: "The throwaway society is unsustainable. For too long we have all been filling our wheelie bins without much thought about where our waste will end up."