A FUTURISTIC form of incinerator burning thousands of tonnes of waste could be built in Tavistock — producing enough energy to power the town.

But the suggestion has come under fire from an environmentalist, who says it would be a waste of 'time, money and energy'.

The option is examined in a report by Devon Waste Management, the company owned by Devon County Council which manages the county's rubbish .

The report explores how small-scale 'energy from waste' plants in rural areas could fit in with Devon's waste strategy — under new government directives, landfill tonnage needs to be reduced drastically during the next few years.

Richard May, managing director of Devon Waste Management, said: 'This document is an attempt to demonstrate there are emerging technologies that fall between recycling and landfill.

'This is a small facility — it doesn't have any of the implications of large-scale incinerators in towns, of pollution etc. It is there to complement recycling activity because it takes materials that are not recyclable.'

The system being examined is an Eco-Waste Oxidiser or EWOX gasification process, a small unit involving four combustion chambers feeding into a secondary chamber. It could be stationed at Crowndale, where there is an existing recycling facility.

Mr May estimated between 15,000 and 30,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste could be treated in Tavistock in this way annually.

'It doesn't intimidate the recycling aspirations of the community — it picks up the leavings.

'At the moment these are taken up to Combebow by road — it's a suggestion about catering for that waste when Combebow is filled.

'It's waste that's produced in Tavistock — it's a local solution for a local problem,' he said.

In burning pre-sorted waste, a 30,000 tonne plant could produce enough energy to power 4,000 to 6,000 households.

'It's about converting what energy there is in the waste which can be transferred simply into the National Grid,' Mr May said.

'I am suggesting it's a possible way forward. It's an emerging technology, but if we have to move forward in this area then we have to start innovating.'

Roger Sparling, who owns a waste transfer business near Tavistock, said: 'For the first time ever it looks as if the authorities are putting their minds to alternatives to landfill.

'If we had an incinerator, we could reduce the amount we send to landfill by up to 80 per cent — that would make the landfill site last a lot longer.'

But Jane Savage, manager of WestDEN's Waste Not Want Not project, said she had 'serious concerns' about the proposals.

'There is a fear if the amount of waste produced falls below necessary levels needed to keep the incinerator working efficiently, recyclable materials will be used to boost input.

'This would be literally throwing away valuable resources and wasting energy rather than creating it,' she said.

'It seems we are wasting time, money and energy treating the symptoms rather than addressing the cause of our problem.

'The only long-term solution is to reduce the amount of waste we produce in the first place,' she said.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: 'This is very much a discussion document from the contractors putting forward one possible option.

'It is not county council policy. The county council is awaiting publication of the government's national waste strategy — the county's priorities are currently waste minimisation and recycling.'