FOOD waste bins will be introduced to every home under Lancashire County Council control from 2010.

But in Blackburn with Darwen bosses have rejected the move and are looking to build an incinerator to handle the borough’s waste.

Separate bins for food, expected to be emptied every week, are already being used in Preston and Leyland under pilots which have been heralded a success.

The roll-out of the scheme means Lancashire will be one of the first places in the country to have separate food bins.

Each district council will be responsible for setting up its own collection scheme, but County Coun Tony Martin, cabinet member for the environment, said it would be most practical for food bins to be emptied every week.

That could mean, however, that some councils choose to reduce collections for other non-recyclable waste to just once every three weeks.

The move will be paid for by a controversial £2billion private finance contract which is also creating three new mechanical biological treatment plants.

But Blackburn with Darwen Council has pulled out of the contract and is to go it alone.

The borough’s council chiefs said they were concerned extra bins would attract vermin, but the opposition leader said bosses had dithered and chosen the ‘environmentally damaging’ incinerator option.

On the new food waste bin, County Coun Martin said: “It will cost a lot of money, but it is the solution that everyone is looking at, and if we can make it jobs" target="_blank">work we can set the standard for the rest of the country to follow.

“We were all disappointed that Blackburn decided to pull out of the deal just a few weeks before we all signed it.

“They are looking things like incineration, which Defra will tell you is a good way to get rid of waste, but on the other hand the climate change scientists say the carbon footprint is enormous.”

Councils are urgently looking at how they can reduce waste sent to landfill as by 2011 every tonne of landfill will be taxed at £48, on top of the cost of its disposal.

Lancashire sent 464,000 tonnes of rubbish to landfill last year - 58 per cent of all waste produced.

Under the new strategy, it is hoped the amount of waste from each home will be reduced, and that 61 per cent will be recycled or composted by 2020.

An energy-rich methane can be extracted from the treatment of food waste. What is left is turned into compost.

Environmental charity Friends of the Earth said: “We could be producing renewable electricity with our food waste, but instead we landfill nearly 10 million tonnes each year from households and trade.

“Separate food waste collections improve recycling rates and reduce the pressure for new incinerators.”

Blackburn with Darwen leader Mike Lee said his council had an excellent recycling record, and was studying a range of ideas, including incineration, to reduce its landfill.

He said: “If you have got food waste hanging round for quite some time then it is going to smell and attract all sorts of creatures.

“It’s about finding a system that’s effective.”

Blackburn with Darwen Labour group leader Kate Hollern said bosses were missing an opportunity to be more environmentally friendly.

She said: “They have decided on incineration, even though it could damage public health, the environment and have other negative consequences in the area.

“Michael Lee should be honest with residents on where they will actually site these huge burning monsters, and how he plans to operate them.”

The Australian firm which has won the £2billion contract will earn £400million over 25 years in interest repayments from the county. It has been predicted that council tax will have to rise by 14.5 per cent by 2012 to meet the costs.

Hi-tech treatment facilities are being built at Leyland, Thornton and Huncoat under the scheme.