North Yorkshire county councillors voted in favour of the £1.4 billion plant after long and bitter opposition from members of the community. The contract was awarded to Spanish firm AmeyCespa.

Those who oppose the plant say the incinerator will have a negative impact on the environment and people’s health.

Members of the North Yorkshire Waste Action Group demonstrated outside the county hall at Northallerton but failed to convince councillors to vote against the plans.

The plant will use mechanical sorting and reclamation of around 20,000 tonnes a year of recyclable materials. It will provide energy from waste incineration and use anaerobic digestion (AD) to produce green energy.

The council claims that the plant would provide a green solution to dealing with household waste and will produce enough electricity to supply 40,000 homes.

The application for the building of the waste management plant will now have to clear planning procedures.

The company will also need to apply for an operating permit from the Environment Agency. If these applications are successful the plant will be operational in 2014.

Alison Brown

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