HILLS Waste has applied to build a household recycling centre at its site at Compton Bassett.

An application was made on November 30 for a household recycling centre, extended composting facilities and a small extension at the top of the site.

Mike Webster, Hills Waste Management director, said if allowed the centre could be up and running by next summer.

He said it would be a similar size to the facility in Stanton St Quintin, and is part of a contract with Wiltshire County Council to provide for recycling.

"We are setting up a series of these household recycling centres in Wiltshire and this is the latest," said Mr Webster.

He said future planning approval would also be sought for a similar site in Trowbridge. "The public fetch recyclable materials into these centres, including scrap waste or clean waste that can be composted, with the aim of stopping it being landfilled so it can be reused or recycled."

Hills already operates a landfill site at Compton Bassett. On the same site is a materials recycling facility, where items are recycled from centres in Wiltshire.

Mr Webster said having a household recycling centre on the same site would make the job of recycling more efficient.

"The local councils and the people in that area have seen the ones we have built elsewhere in the county and everyone wants one in their parish or district."

Mr Webster stressed a household recycling centre would be completely separate to plans, outlined in the county council's Waste Local Plan 2011, for an incinerator near Compton Bassett.

But, at a Calne Town Council meeting last week, Coun John Watkins said he hoped the siting of a household recycling centre at Compton Bassett could use up all available space, squeezing out plans for any incinerator. "If this goes through there won't be any room on the site for an incinerator," he said.

"In fact there won't be any need for it because it will increase the capacity for recycling by 100 per cent."

Compton Bassett Parish Council hosted a meeting last week, attended by 125 people, for residents to hear the outline of the waste local plan.

Andy Conn, a county council officer responsible for the local plan explained why a household recycling centre was needed, and stressed the waste plan was a statutory development to reduce landfill.

He said the council was looking at Compton Bassett as one of a variety of options.

Nick Boyd, chairman of Friends of Compton and Surround opposing the extension of the site said: "But, regardless of his assurances that an incinerator was not proposed he admitted that incineration was one of the three options to generate energy from waste, which we are worried about."

"The household recycling centre is a separate issue but it represents part of the county council's plans to turn Compton Bassett into a waste epicentre for the county," said Mr Boyd.