An incinerator planned to be built at Belvedere in Bexley received planning permission last month, almost fifteen years after being proposed. Separately Cornwall county council has chosen SITA UK as preferred bidder for a long-term waste management contract - part of which includes the building of an energy from waste plant.
But both have now come under criticism from opponents to incineration who say the plants will hurt the potential to recycle.
Bexley council is working with London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who has made no secret of his anti-incinerator stance, to seek legal action to block the Belvedere plant. Mr Livingstone has promised to assist Bexley in financing the legal action, according to council leader Ian Clement.
Mr Clement said: "We are committed to using all the powers available to us to protect the interests of Bexley residents. We now have to put our faith and trust in British justice and let the courts decide."
And the London Mayor criticised the plant because it would be burning waste that could be recycled due to the 30-year lifespan of the plant.
He said: "Thousands of tonnes of London's rubbish, which could be recycled or turned into renewable gas will instead be burnt. Climate change is at the top of my agenda and an incinerator is a backward step in the battle to cut emissions and increase recycling.
The incinerator would handle household waste from Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth and Lambeth - the waste would be transported using the Thames not London's already congested roads.
In Cornwall a senior Liberal Democrat MP has called for a public inquiry into the awarding of the county's PFI backed contract to SITA UK - the company has planned an incinerator to deal with the council's non-recyclable waste.
But Matthew Taylor, MP for Truro and St Austell as well as the Lib Dems' shadow minister for social exclusion, claimed that the government was effectively forcing the incinerator on Cornwall and threatening to remove PFI support if it didn't.
Mr Taylor also claimed that the plant size - 240,000 tonnes per annum - was "far bigger than required over its 30-year life, as recycling and waste reduction increases".
However minister for environment, Ben Bradshaw, has responded. The minister has maintained that as long as waste is being diverted from landfill Defra has no favoured option for how this happens.
Mr Bradshaw said: "It is up to local authorities to decide the best mix of waste management for their local area. If Cornwall fails to divert enough waste from landfill it will be Mr Taylor's constituents who pay the price through swingeing landfill penalties on their Council Tax."
Copyright: letsrecycle.com