Environmental campaigners have greeted with dismay an eleventh-hour amendment to the Essex Waste Plan that county councillors had hailed as a victory against the threat of incinerators.

The environmentalists are warning that the way has been left open for incinerator planning applications to be submitted for sites across the county, including North Weald airfield, Sandon and Basildon.

Last Tuesday's full meeting of Essex County Council saw draft modifications to the controversial waste management plan approved after a protracted debate.

The wording of the amendment stipulated that there would be "a presumption" against incineration until recycling targets for household waste have been tested.

Following the meeting, the Conservatives claimed that the amendment will "guard against any possibility of incineration being imposed on Essex".

But this was disputed by leading Ongar-based environmentalist Barbara Szymanek, who had joined with Essex Friends of the Earth in calling for incineration to be completely excluded from the plan.

Noting that the amendment only governs household waste, she warned that it leaves open the possibility that incinerators could be brought in to manage commercial waste.

Mrs Szymanek said: "Not a single environmentalist applauded the amendment. It simply doesn't give us the opportunity to give recycling a proper trial in Essex."

She added: "The wording is not strong enough because it doesn't safeguard against incineration."

Ongar county councillor Gerard McEwen defended incineration's continued inclusion in the waste plan, claiming that county planners have to think as far as seven to eight years ahead.

He said: "We have to budget for all contingencies. At the end of the day it would be dishonest to say we could rule out any method of waste management completely, because we cannot."

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