NONE of the sites earmarked for a controversial waste incinerator will be revealed until November, it emerged today.

Russell Claydon

NONE of the sites earmarked for a controversial waste incinerator will be revealed until November, it emerged today.

The news came as Suffolk County Council announced ambitious proposals to cut the amount of waste that goes to landfill by 1.7 million tonnes.

Plans to overhaul the way rubbish is disposed of will be put out to consultation to bodies and the public on Monday, but no potential sites for the controversial incinerator will be announced for another three months.

Over the next nine weeks residents will have the opportunity to register their ideas for what waste facilities are needed to replace landfill sites and how their locations should be selected.

The document Waste Issues and Options, part of the council's Minerals and Waste Development Framework, was unveiled at a press conference today.

David Palk, Suffolk County Council's head of development control and in charge of their waste develop-ment framework, said previous plans, registered in 2006, were now out of date, meaning a new policy has to be developed, utilising advancements in technologies.

“There are no sites yet in this document and we are at a very early stage in the process,” he said. “Later in the year there will be potential sites for waste treatment facilities to move away from landfill but we will still need addi-tional landfill, or overfill as well.”

He added the reduction to 100,000 tonnes of waste entering landfill by 2013 would be a “significant” one, but said there was always going to be some waste that nothing could be done with in a treatment plant.

Councillor Lisa Chambers, portfolio holder responsible for planning, said: “We are building criteria we can carry forward for the future of Suffolk.

“By looking at the criteria first, we can be confident that the second stage will only involve sites that are feasible and suitable.”

Access to the road network, visible impact and the current use of sites are all things she said she thought would form the framework for their selection.

When asked if it was wise to be pushing ahead with the plans while the future structure of local government in Suffolk was uncertain, she said: “It is business as usual for us and we need to plan for the future of Suffolk and put down good, strong policies so we can move forward.”

The proposed sites for waste facilities will go out to consultation around November, before a proposed plan goes out to consultation in April/May next year.

Results will be passed onto the Government at the end of 2009 before the proposals are given to an independent inspector, who will then examine the document.

There will then be another opportunity for objections, before a final document is formalised, which the council will then be able to operate.

People can participate in selecting the criteria for waste disposal plans until October 10 online at http://suffolk.jdi-consult.net/ldf/ or by post to: Graham Gunby, Minerals and Waste Policy Manager, Suffolk County Council, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich IP1 2BX.