A CRUNCH meeting will be held to thrash out the future of Merseyside’s waste and whether taxpayers’ money should be used to pay for incinerators.

Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA) is planning two 300,000-tonne waste-burning incinerators in the region.

But council leaders across Merseyside are worried the expensive plants could become "white elephants" in future.

Liverpool council leader Warren Bradley believes there are already enough privately- run facilities and wants to know the justification behind spending £3bn of taxpayers’ money on another project.

The private sector already has planning permission for a number of plants able to handle 1m tonnes of waste, with two more plants in the pipeline, which could take another 550,000 tonnes.

The meeting will be the latest episode in a stand-off between Merseyside’s council leaders and the MWDA.

A date for the get-together between the leaders and MWDA director Carl Beer has yet to be set, but the Daily Post understands it is just weeks away.

Since 2005, the organisation has been drawing up detailed plans for "thermal treatment works".

It has shortlisted companies to build the plants and secured £90m of private finance initiative (PFI) credits from the government as a key plank of a £3bn procurement programme.

The MWDA has said it wants to build the largest waste sites in the "vicinity" of where the M62 crosses the M57, and where the M57 crosses the East Lancashire Road.

Both Knowsley and Liverpool councils have passed strongly- worded policies condemning incineration.

Merseyside needs to find new ways of dealing with the 856,000 tonnes of waste it produces each year to avoid paying hefty fines under European rules.

The region only recycles around 30% of its rubbish at present.

Cllr Bradley said: "We have consistently made clear that Liverpool council is opposed to incineration.

"This is about speaking to the MWDA to get clarification as to why it feels there is a need for an incinerator.

"There seems to be sufficient capacity to deal with our waste in the private sector, so for what reason are we looking for another one?

"The other question is about what happens in 30 years’ time when in a perfect world everyone will be recycling. Will it become a white elephant?"