Plan to burn city's food in university eco-boiler is 'half-baked'

Coun Andy Roberts also called the plan to use food waste to power a biomass heating system which would provide heat and light to the new Castle Street campus as "laughable."

The suggestion was made last month to the city's waste management working party, which is currently investigating refuse issues, by Coun Paul Denham.

Coun Roberts said: "You are talking about hijacking the university's heating system for a food incinerator.

"It's a massive decision, there are all sorts of planning considerations.

"It's a half-baked idea."

He added the working party was keeping an open mind about a separate food waste collection but he was concerned doing so would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

However, Coun Denham denied he was talking about an incinerator.

He said: "We, as the Labour group, are in favour of collecting waste food and using it in some sensible way rather than sticking it into landfill and this was a possible use for it.

"It would be better to keep things local rather than sending it outside the county."

He added: "We know the Government has asked about 17 or 18 councils up and down the country to examine ways of using waste food so we know it's on the Govern-ment's agenda.

"It's the way things are going to go."

Coun Denham said the idea came to him during a site visit at the new campus and he suggested it to the University's vice chancellor before e-mailing members of the working party.

A university spokesman said: "The university takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and is committed to ensuring that power and light to the new city campus is provided as sustainably and cleanly as possible.

"All options are being carefully and expertly evaluated by qualified engineers but we've certainly no proposal to burn food waste at the new campus."

Instead, if implemented, the heating system could be powered by woodchip from a renewable crop.