Waste incinerator plans for Gloucestershire go on show

Plans for a waste incinerator on the outskirts of Gloucester have gone on show at a public exhibition.

Proposals from two bidders for the residual waste facility at Javelin Park are on display at the site, close to junction 12 of the M5.

Both bids, Complete Circle and a consortium of Urbaser and Balfour Beatty, intend to burn waste to generate electricity.

People attending will be able to question the bidders about the plans.

Last year more than 5,000 people signed a petition opposing the plans.

Gloucestershire County Council is expected to decide in November on which company will be awarded a 25-year contract to process waste.

Councillor Stan Waddington said: "Government taxes are rising to £80 a tonne [for using landfill] so we've got to find an alternative.

"We've been through the process of looking at all the alternatives, and improving recycling rates, but we've still got a lot of waste that has to be got rid of."

The exhibition will continue on Monday and Tuesday between 1400 and 2000 BST. The plant is due to begin operating in 2015.

In March the plans from the Conservative-controlled cabinet were called-in for review by the county council's overview and scrutiny committee after claims from the opposition Liberal Democrat group that the decision process had been "flawed", but this objection was dismissed.