SIR – A waste of time - and our money. Herts County Council have started a campaign to win public support for building one huge incinerator to burn all of the waste produced in the county. That s a big bonfire, however well the harmful emissions are scru

SIR - A waste of time - and our money. Herts County Council have started a campaign to win public support for building one huge incinerator to burn all of the waste produced in the county. That's a big bonfire, however well the harmful emissions are 'scrubbed' before release. It is also a gigantic waste of taxpayers' money since it leads nowhere; it blocks wise investment in more local and advanced means of processing waste. The claim about 'energy from waste' is just a way of duping the public into thinking that burning vast amounts of refuse - including plastics - will somehow be good for the climate and for future generations.

This backward-looking scheme learns nothing from the causes of our current recession. It even mortgages the future of residents and businesses with a 1990s-style 'private finance initiative' (PFI) to be paid for in taxes for decades to come. It does not even recycle 100% of valuable materials rather than chucking them in the furnaces. In coming months we can expect to be told how 'green' their emerging proposal is, how all viable options and sites are being considered and how democratically we will be consulted before any decisions are made!

JOHN WEBB

Meadow Way

Letchworth Garden City