Your readers will be aware the councils in Oxfordshire are undertaking a public consultation about our future household waste and recycling called 'No Time to Waste'.

The councils' consultation material is confusing, particularly as most of the options offered seem to mean burning waste in one way or another.

The consultation refers to Energy from Waste, but not incineration.

Members of the public should be under no illusion that Energy from Waste means burning household waste in an incinerator, albeit an incinerator fitted with some form of electricity generation.

Waste is incinerated, and ash produced for disposal - some of it toxic.

Where the No Time to Waste consultation refers to Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) as producing fuel pellets to burn, this is a gross simplification which is not necessarily correct.

Treating household waste by MBT will recover materials for recycling, and biologically treat the remainder so it is stable for disposal. The methane produced by biologically treating the waste, through anaerobic digestion, can be burned to produce clean renewable energy, but note, the waste is not burned and fewer greenhouse gases are produced overall than incineration.

If food waste is collected for municipal composting, recycling rates are increased, and waste reduction is implemented, there is every reason to think the stabilised output of MBT could be disposed of at landfill or used for land remediation, or for growing energy crops upon.

Friends of the Earth supports MBT where it is used in this way, but not for producing fuel pellets as the consultation says.

Further guidence on the No Time to Waste consultation can be found on our website at www.oxfoe.co.uk Andrew Wood, Oxford Friends of the Earth