Site for waste to be built
A new waste incinerator handling a maximum 300,000 tonnes of refuse a year is to be built near Cannock.
Sources within Staffordshire County Council have revealed the incinerator is likely to be built at the Four Ashes Industrial Estate, off the A449.
The council today rushed out a statement claiming it had made no decision on any specific site but said it was gearing up to apply for planning permission.
Most of the rubbish handled by the incinerator is expected to be domestic refuse from surrounding districts.
Any ash from the site which cannot be recycled will have to be buried at a registered landfill – likely to be Poplars in Cannock.
Councillor Tony Williams, cabinet member for environment at Cannock Chase Council, said: "If this is true that it is going to Four Ashes I am concerned about the impact it will have on our roads.
"With that much waste I would think we could see hundreds of extra waste trucks coming through Cannock every week."
The county council said the facility would generate enough energy to power 20,000 homes and was a better option for the environment than landfill.
