PLANS are in the pipeline to convert gas from a Hartlebury landfill site to electricity for homes.

At present, the gas produced by decomposing waste at Waresley Landfill Site is extracted and burnt off. But it could be used to fuel electricity generators, and supply 480 homes with electricity

Biffa Waste Services is proposing to convert methane, which is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases, into less harmful carbon dioxide to provide electricity.

The electrical power would be fed into the supply network 24 hours a day.

It would mean building a generating plant with two 12-metre-high flare stacks in the Green Belt site, but environment officers have not objected.

They say the gas is currently wasted and using it to provide a source of sustainable fuel would be the best practicable environment option.

Its control is essential for the long-term management of waste sites to reduce the risk of fire, explosion, odour and die-back of vegetation.

As the site is well screened, it would not be seen from houses on Walton Road or the lane leading to Elmley Lovett.

The flare stacks would be seen from Hartlebury Industrial Estate against the backdrop of Waresley Brickworks.

It is not thought the noise from the generators would be intrusive, but this would be monitored in the first three months and if it exceeded predicted levels, noise abatement measures would be required.

The operation is expected to continue for 15 to 20 years at current rates of landfill and for many years after the site has been restored, until it ceases to produce sufficient gas to generate electricity.

Planning officers are recommending approval of the scheme by Worcestershire County Council's planning and regulatory committee, which meets tomorrow.

However, the scheme has received faint praise from Friends of the Earth spokesman Chris Crean as "the best of a bad job".

Methane was being produced because we were mixing up valuable resources and throwing them into the ground together, he said.

"We don't support the co-disposal of compostible and inert materials. We would like to see landfill and incineration ruled out," he said.

"Instead, we want kerbside collection, separating the resources, so that they can be recycled to create new products."

"This highlights what is going on in Worcestershire at the moment, as they are consulting on future waste strategy."

But Mr Crean conceded that if methane was being produced there were advantages in collecting it to generate power rather than burning it off, said Mr Crean.

"The devil is in the detail of the ongoing management of the site, especially after the reception of waste ended, when chemical reactions would continue for years," he said.

There would also need to be careful monitoring of the leachate, a liquid produced from landfill, which could drain into rivers and water courses.