COUNCIL chiefs are gearing up for another battle with residents over proposed plans for an incinerator in Buckinghamshire. They invited reporters, including the Bucks Free Press's Hannah Williams, to see a facility similiar to the one planned for the county.

The Marchwood Energy from Waste' facility in Southampton isn't what you would expect from an incinerator.

It looks like the Millennium Dome instead of the box-on-stilts designs which have dominated Britain's industrial landscape in the past.

The incinerator - which produces electricity as a by-product of the burning - is also not as noisy as you would expect.

Standing outside, the facility hums and most of the noise comes from lorries driving into the building to drop off their loads. But if Veolia, the company which runs the facility, gets the Bucks contract they will drop their rubbish outside the facility.

Nor does it smell - not outside anyway.

Inside the odour is noticeable, but not overpowering as we see two massive claws come down from the ceiling to grab rubbish and then drop it into two burners.

The visit was part of Buckinghamshire County Council's efforts to win the debate over the planned incinerator for the county. However despite asking we were not invited to take pictures of our visit.

The incinerator will consume 270,000 tonnes of un-recyclable household waste produced each year.

The council says it has no choice but to consider incineration - it has to meet Government targets and a major hike in tax on dumping waste in landfills.

The authority had the advantage of being able to decide if one is built. This was given the green light by councillors in January 2007 - the question is now where to put it.

In South Bucks the options are Wapseys Wood, Gerrards Cross and Springfield Farm, Beaconsfield - in the north it's Woodham Industrial Area in Aylesbury and Calvert, near Buckingham. But residents are concerned about noise, smell and health side-effects.

In the Buckinghamshire Times - the council-produced newspaper sent to all homes in the county - the council's Waste Team said opposition was "unfortunate".

It said: "The public perception of incinerators tends to be based on old, outdated facilities that are no longer legal, did not conform to very strict modern health and safety standards, and were phased out several years ago."

Much of these fears focus on dioxins, a by-product of the process that can increase the likelihood of cancer.

Project director for the site John Collis said: "The Millennium firework display in London discharged more dioxins in 20 minutes than the largest incinerator in the UK would in 100 years."

But Rod Whyte, spokesman for protest group Buckinghamshire Residents Against Incinerators, said: "We are really trying to reflect what we are being told by residents of south Bucks. I would say 99 per cent of people I have spoken to are against it."

He said: "Research shows there is a health risk with incinerators. Our point is why take a risk, particularly on Green Belt land?"

Veolia is one of three companies bidding for the contract, the others are Covanta Energy Ltd and Waste Recycling Group.