The long-awaited public inquiry into a controversial proposed incinerator in Lynn opened on Tuesday and is due to resume next Tuesday.
Views for and against the mass burner at Saddlebow will be heard by an independent inspector.
More than 70,000 West Norfolk residents have already made their feelings plain in a referendum organised by West Norfolk Council in which more than 92 per cent of voters opposed the plan.
The Lynn News took to the streets in Lynn town centre to ask if local residents would be following the on-going public inquiry and found opinion on the incinerator divided.
Brenda Russell, of West Winch, said she felt impatient when listening to a radio report on the opening session of the public inquiry.
“I think it’s gone on too long. We don’t want it. Why can’t we say no and be done with it?” she asked.
Despite being brought up in an age when rubbish was disposed of on a bonfire in the garden, she said: “I thought we were living in a greener environment now. We should be.”
Paul Barton, of Watlington, said: “I will be following the inquiry to see how it pans out.”
Although he was personally in favour of the incinerator, he believed democracy should prevail. He said: “My view is that it’s a good thing. I could live with it. But if everyone is against it, you have to follow the majority.”
Pamela Woods, of West Lynn, said: “I am opposed to the incinerator. I voted against it in the referendum and I will be following the public inquiry.”
Mrs Woods said she was concerned about the effects that emissions from the burner could have on her family, having heard the fumes could cause illnesses.
She said: “I’m thinking of my children and my young grandchildren. I worry about them. I don’t want them being affected.”
Doreen Davison, of Snettisham, said a more remote location should be sought for the incinerator. “I think they are putting it here because they are going to take waste from other counties as well,” she said.
She pointed out that all West Norfolk households would soon have new bins.
“We should be able to separate waste better than we do at the moment. We shouldn’t be burning it into our atmosphere. That is wrong,” she said.
Neil Leggett, of Gaywood, said he planned to attend the inquiry himself at some stage.
“I know we have got to do something with the rubbish and an incinerator is one way of dealing with it but I’m concerned about dioxins and the size of particles that will be released into the atmosphere. I just think that we as a society should be recycling more stuff rather than burning it,” he said.
He believed technological advances would make the incinerator obsolete before long.
“They are saddling us with something we don’t want and they tried to hide it from us until the last moment,” he said.
Mary Barton, of Downham, was not against the incinerator in principle. She said: “They will have to follow safety regulations. Sometimes people just like to pick at things.”
The rest of the inquiry, except for an evening session, will take place at West Norfolk Professional Development Centre in Kilham’s Way, North Lynn.
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