FINDING effective ways to get rid of waste is one of the biggest issues of our time.

Burying rubbish in the ground or landfill is no longer an option. We are a small island and just don’t have the room.

Recycling is the name of the game and big strides have all ready been made in East Lancashire, and some areas of Blackburn with Darwen for example, where people are becoming used to separating recyclable, non-recyclable and green waste into three different bins.

Now councils have to find ways of disposing of the mountains of non-recyclable rubbish in a way that isn’t going to harm the health or lifestyles of future generations.

Lancashire County Council’s plan is to use “mechanical biological treatment” under which waste is treated under pressure to reduce its size.

But Blackburn with Darwen Council has other options in mind including an incinerator which could generate power by burning rubbish but which some fear could pollute the air.

However, surely everyone would object to having such a complex built near their home.

It’s such a big issue that region-wide solutions are preferable to different councils doing their own thing.