Councillors are to decide the cheapest and most effective way of transporting all the county's household waste to a new incinerator.

The controversial Javelin Park facility at Haresfield will burn around 190,000 tonnes a year for steam-powered turbines to produce electricity.

The "energy from waste" centre will replace the movement of household rubbish to landfill. The first waste vehicles will start to arrive at the site, as part of commissioning trials, around March, 2019.

Next week Gloucestershire County Council's cabinet will decide how best to transport household waste to Javelin Park from bulking stations across the county.

Two main options will be presented. One is to continue to use 'Waste Transfer Stations' (WTS) in the Forest of Dean and Cotswold districts and provide a new combined WTS for Cheltenham and Tewkesbury. The stations will allow household waste from these areas of the county to accumulate in one place and for a more efficient transport straight to Javelin Park.

The other option is for the council to use a combination of the waste transfer stations and direct delivery of waste to Javelin Park. This will mean some local councils will take their rubbish straight to Javelin Park whilst others take it to a waste transfer station for bulking.

Both options will be compared in detail to look at the effects on services before deciding which provides the most cost-effective arrangement.

Cllr Nigel Moor, cabinet member for fire, planning and infrastructure, said: "This project is all about saving money so it's important all options are considered.

"The energy from waste facility will generate enough clean electricity to power 25,000 homes so it's important that Gloucestershire has the best value for money throughout the whole project - including when taking waste from place to place.

"The new energy from waste facility will allow us to treat the rubbish that currently goes to landfill in a clean and efficient way. It supports our aim of 70 per cent recycling across our county as well as reducing the county's carbon emissions by 40,000 tonnes a year."

The first waste vehicles will start to arrive at the site, as part of commissioning trials, around March 2019.

The facility is being constructed by a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Urbaser Ltd on a 12.6 acre site. The footprint of the main building complex will be around 9,200 square metres.

The maximum height of the main boiler hall is 48.5 metres above surrounding ground level, and the chimney stack is 70 metres tall.

The centre has provided work for up to 400 people.

Image credit: Urbaser Balfour Beatty - how the new facility will look.  For more details visit www.ubbgloucestershire.co.uk/