PLANS to build a controversial incinerator that would burn 260,000 tonnes of rubbish a year could be submitted to Newport Council next month.

Veolia Environment Services wants to build an “energy recovery facility” at a disused part of the Llanwern Steelworks site that would use heat from burning rubbish to generate up to 20 megawatts of electricity for around 35,000 homes.

It is one of three companies bidding for a contract from a coalition of five South Wales councils - dubbed the Prosiect Gwyrdd scheme - who are looking for a radical alternative to dumping waste in landfill.

Veolia says it intends to submit a planning application for the incinerator with Newport council in late October, and is currently conducting its own consultation with residents, distributing leaflets to 4,250 homes.

There is already cross-party opposition to the scheme with more than 2,000 people signing a petition against it before the plans have even been lodged.

The site is close to the St Modwen development project to build 4,000 homes over the next 20 years.

In its leaflet to residents Veolia says the incinerator would include twin stacks that would need to be a minimum of 65 metres high, but with screens that enclose the ash processing area.

A leaflet produced by the Stop Newport Incinerator Campaign (SNIC) however raised health fears over incinerator fumes and says that a “huge incinerator is unsuitable for a site near to unique farmland, nature reserves and housing.”

Veolia said the campaign’s fears are unfounded and the Health Protection Agency said modern energy recovery facilities do not present a significant risk to public health.

SNIC chairman Rob Hepworth yesterday compared the battle between the Stop Newport Incinerator Campaign and multinational Veolia to David and Goliath.

He said the campaign will “dig in for a long fight” and added: “We can’t match the PR effort but the advantage we have is that we know people in the community.”

A spokesman for Prosiect Gwyrdd – a coalition of five councils including Newport, Monmouthshire and Caerphilly – said three bidders, all of which propose incinerators, will be reduced to two in December with a preferred bidder to be selected in the autumn of 2012.

Yesterday the Argus asked Veolia for figures on the emissions that would be produced by the plant. It said that, as it is still completing the planning application, no figures are available.

St Modwen could not be reached for comment.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Our concerns at waste plan

TALK of a waste incineration plant for Newport has raised concerns among people living in the area.

And with the company, Veolia, now saying it is committed to submitting a planning application for this controversial proposal next month there is an increase in local fears.

Veolia is one of three companies vying for the contract to dispose of waste from the council areas of Newport, Cardiff, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire and the Vale of Glamorgan under the Project Gwyrdd banner.

There is no certainty that this project, with its identified site in Newport, will be the one chosen.

But if this does come close to being a reality there would have to be an inquiry and painstaking research into any potential harmful effects on people or the environment.

The waste transported to the site would be that which cannot be recycled.

The aim is to reduce the amount going to landfill, and incineration, which also produces electricity, is seen as one of the ways forward.

If permission were granted, there would be pros and cons.

It would be an employer, would add to Newport’s economy and generate a significant amount of electricity.

On the other hand, it would increase traffic, especially the number of heavy rubbish lorries. There would be emissions (possibly harmful) and the building is hardly likely to be an architectural delight.

And it does seem inconceivable that it would be a stone’s throw away from what is planned to become a new village with schools and homes.

What is needed is proof that it could operate with no risk at all to human health or to the environment, and that evidence needs to be seen before any planning approval is given.