OXFORD city councillor John Tanner is backing campaigners calling for a planned rubbish incinerator at Sutton Courtenay to be thrown out.

Mr Tanner, executive member for a cleaner greener city and chairman of the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership, met Sutton Courtenay residents to discuss the planning application for the £1bn waste disposal plant.

He stressed there were alternative options and called on Oxfordshire County Council, the waste disposal authority, to refuse planning permission for the incinerator.

Mr Tanner added: “Oxford City Council is very much against incineration.

“We think there are alternatives to disposing of residual waste, including mechanical and biological treatment.

“They have disadvantages in that they leaves more residual waste than burning, but given that we are reducing the amount of waste we are throwing away and recycling more and more, I think it’s very unwise to agree to plans for huge incinerators here in Oxfordshire. There is no doubt that burning rubbish is the cheapest way to get rid of it. Mechanical and biological treatment is more expensive.”

Later this year the county council will decide whether to give the go-ahead for an incinerator capable of burning 300,000 tonnes of waste a year, at Sutton Courtenay landfill site, or at Ardley, near Bicester. A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said: "Energy from waste is widely and safely used in many European countries and is increasingly being used here in Britain. "There are already approximately 20 Energy from waste facilities in Britain, 128 in France, 65 in Germany, 30 in Denmark, 29 in Sweden and 28 in Switzerland. "Any treatment facility will need to be permitted by the Environment Agency and Health Protection Agency, who are responsible for regulating waste treatment plants. They have strict rules for such facilities and will not allow anything that is unsafe."