A Proposed £50m expansion of Nottingham's incinerator was the subject of a heated public debate last night.

Waste firm WRG wants to expand its Eastcroft plant in London Road, just off the city centre, to take a further 100,000 tonnes of rubbish a year.

About 100 people attended last night's meeting at the old school hall, next to Green's Windmill, off Sneinton Dale, one of the areas which receive most of the fallout from the plant's emissions.

It was arranged by the main group opposing Eastcroft's expansion, Nottingham Against Incineration and Landfill (NAIL).

Environmentalists and some residents oppose WRG's plan, which would more than double the size of the plant.

Concerns were expressed increased pollution would affect residents' health.

Fears were also raised that waste would need to be imported from outside Notts to make the expanded site viable.

Answering the public's questions was a panel of experts representing NAIL.

Incinerator owner WRG - which was not represented at the meeting - claims there is enough waste in Notts to feed an expanded plant, without affecting councils' efforts to boost recycling.

Former city councilllor Ali Asgharcor, who lives in Sneinton, told the meeting: "If this (expansion) scheme goes ahead it will be a disaster for the area."

Ian Tringalicor, 34, who lives off Sneinton Dale, questioned whether neighbouring counties would want to 'sell' their waste to WRG's bigger plant.

He said: "What if these counties haven't got enough waste to release?"

Valerie Schneider, of Wollaton Park, a former incinerator industry worker, said expansion at Eastcroft should be conditional on it being updated to burn waste more cleanly.

"They can have their planning permission but we want a vast, 300% improvement, in the technology," she added.

The Environment Agency says a new way of testing emissions levels at Eastcroft incinerator has appeared to show higher than usual levels of pollutants.

But the tests have been ruled "inconclusive" by the agency, which says further work needs to be done on the sampling method.

Eastcroft and a Staffordshire cement works were used by the environmental watchdog to test experimental dioxin sampling technology.

Dioxins have been linked to cancer.

But the Agency has said there is no cause for public concern over the results

WRG, whose plant was tested over a 12-week period in 2003, said it would co-operate with any further Environment Agency testing trials.