Controversial waste plans for the county are unlikely to be decided before the end of the year.

Yesterday saw the final day of a six-week public inquiry into the Draft Essex and Southend Waste Plan, a framework for dealing with the county's waste for the next ten years.

The plans have prompted angry protests from residents fearing they would find themselves living next to incinerators at eight named strategic sites.

These include Rayleigh, Basildon and Pitsea.

The inquiry, at Christ Church, London Road, Chelmsford, has examined in detail alternative strategies and suggestions for managing the waste produced.

It is part of council targets to increase recycling of household waste to 60 per cent by 2007.

But the next stage of the lengthy battle will not be reached until after planning inspector Andrew Newman publishes his report in July.

Anthony Porten, counsel for the consortium of 11 district councillors who originally opposed the plans, said in his summing up that it still believed smaller sites would be just as effective.

Gregory Stone, counsel for the waste planning authorities, said the consortium had not come up with other solutions that would cope with the quantities of waste being produced.

"The planning authorities hope that the goals of working together will be achieved but there are many uncertainties to be overcome. Only experience over a long period will provide the eventual outcome," he added.

After the inquiry Paul Sztumpf, chairman of the planning committee at the county council, said it had been important.

"Although many see it as a confrontation I actually think that Essex will get a better plan out of this which is very important.

"The plan should be tested independently so we can get a good balance technically and environmentally," he said.

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