AN independent environmental health expert has warned that a proposed incinerator will leave a community in Worcestershire with a pile of toxic ash.

Dr Paul Connett, director of the not-for-profit campaign group American Environmental Health Studies, suggested building an incinerator to burn waste from Worcestershire and Herefordshire was not an ideal solution, because it would create toxic ash that couldn’t be disposed of.

In his talk, Zero Waste: A Key Step towards Sustainability, Mr Connett said there were better ways of dealing with rubbish, such as recycling, re-using and repairing, which had worked across the world.

He said Worcestershire would be no better off in 25 years time if it goes ahead with the incinerator plan.

Addressing a meeting at County Hall on Monday, Dr Connett said: “In 25 years from now you are going to have a large pile of ash that is toxic,. We have moved no closer to sustainability than we are now and you will have wasted a large amount of money.”

Dr Connett’s talk was organised by a group opposed to an incinerator being built at Hartlebury, near Stourport-on-Severn – Worcestershire Residents Against Incineration and Landfill (WAIL).

Members say the £120 million plant, proposed by Mercian Waste Management, would be expensive, too large and should not be built on green belt land.

Chairman Terry Harrow said the talk had been arranged so councillors could make an informed decision on the incinerator and alternatives, but he said he was disappointed with the number of county councillors who had attended.

“I think it is a very poor decision for people not to come,” he said.

Cabinet member for waste and sustainability Anthony Blagg said their priority was to find the best solution for people within the two counties.

He said council waste management officers had carried out their own detailed research, including public consultation and comparing the different technologies available.

“This detailed analysis using a number of criteria, including cost, reliability and resource depletion, was carried out, with the energy from waste solution coming out as the most appropriate for delivering the solution for Worcestershire and Herefordshire,” he said Mercia said it had not attended as it was a private meeting, but a spokesman added: ”We are confident our proposal will be fully compliant with all policy and legislation, and will go some way to addressing the pressing issues faced by Worcestershire and Hereford councils, by diverting waste away from landfill while increasing recycling through the use of bottom ash in aggregates and contributing renewable energy to the National Grid.