Sites in Walton and Hersham are included in the Surrey Waste Management Plan, which details proposed policies on what to do with the two million tonnes of waste produced in the county each year, as well as identifying potential sites for dumps, incinerators and recycling centres.

David Munro, Surrey County Council (SCC) Executive member for the environment, told the News & Mail that the consultation is part of a process expected to take several years before it becomes policy.

“We have to make a much greater effort in terms of minimising waste, recycling everything we possibly can and then, and only then, disposing of the rest,” he said.

County Hall’s preferred policy of incineration rather than landfill has caused controversy in parts of the county earmarked as suitable for accommodating an incinerator.

“The very worst option is landfill”, said Cllr Munro. “I personally believe it’s morally wrong. In between recycling and landfill is the question of thermal treatment, which includes mass burn incineration but also other techniques that are coming on stream.”

The other part of the consultation involves potential sites for waste treatment centres. The two sites identified in Elmbridge are the BP oil terminal at Sunbury Lane in Walton and the Weylands Treatment works, operated by General Demolition, behind the Lyon Trading Estate, close to Hersham railway station.

The sites were among 50 described as urban locations that could accommodate waste management development.

The BP station was described as benefiting from good access through Waterside Drive but was not investigated in any great detail because it is currently in use.

Part of the former sewage treatment works to the east of Hersham trading estate is identified as a potential home for a resource recovery park, a concept pioneered in California which combines recycling and composting facilities with facility for waste products to be utilised by other industries.

General Demolition already operate an environmental resource park on the site, where waste from their project sites is recycled into other materials.

Difficulties accessing the site because of the low railway bridge and congested roads on the industrial estate make the proposed use unlikely in the near future. The fact that part of the site is green belt and close to the River Mole would also affect the likelihood of any changes in the near future.

Other sites close to the borough’s borders are Randalls Road in Leatherhead and Avro Way in Brooklands Industrial estate.Mr Munro said that selecting the sites was difficult.

“Surrey is the most crowded county in England and there is simply not enough real estate to be able to put a site in without some effect on residents.

“Three-quarters of Surrey is green belt so we have to look at the possibility of putting some waste sites in. We cannot afford to ignore three-quarters of the county.

“We are not saying that we want to put an incinerator on site ‘x’, for example,” said Mr Munro. “We are saying that site ‘x’ could be suitable, subject to all the planning processes.

“We are inviting people to say if they think we have got this right. Nobody wants thermal treatment in their neck of the woods, for perfectly understandable reasons, and we really want to hear from Surrey residents.”