AN incinerator could burn 850,000 tonnes of waste on our doorsteps – none of which will be from Cheshire, fear campaigners.

Last August the Government gave Covanta Energy the thumbs-up to transport kitchen waste, litter and debris from cemeteries from across the country to Ince Resource and Recovery Park to burn in its 95MW incinerator.

But now, as Covanta applies for a certificate of lawfulness to Cheshire West and Chester Council, campaigners are demanding to know where the waste being burnt in their backyards will be coming from.

Cheshire West and Chester Council was unable to confirm whether they would be using the controversial incinerator – known as an energy-from-waste facility (EfW) – to burn household waste collections, but campaigners say the authority simply does not have enough non-recyclable waste to justify it.

Cheshire Anti-Incineration Network (Chain) chairman Brian Cartwright said the waste could be brought in from as far as London and Europe and would transform the area into a ‘dumping ground’.

“Covanta will get waste from wherever they can, even if it is from abroad,” said Mr Cartwright, who said combination of all the incinerators in the area would amount to 2.6 million tonnes of waste being ‘dumped’ within a 15-mile radius.

“Cheshire has a very strong record of reduce, reuse, recycle. The people who are recycling seem to be being punished by all these mountains of waste being brought from all over the country and being dumped on their doorsteps.”

Covanta could not confirm where the 850,000 tonnes of waste would be coming from, but said it hoped to take waste from the local region.

Malcolm Chilton, managing director of Covanta Energy, said: “Covanta is one of the last two bidders for Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority’s post-recycled household waste contract. We are also in the process of tendering for a number of other local authority residual waste contracts in the region.”