Environmentalists in Northern Ireland are continuing their three-year battle to stop two incinerators being constructed in Belfast harbour. They are confident that one of the proposals has been defeated, but they fear that a second plan could go ahead if the region's local authorities choose incineration as the way to deal with the problem of waste disposal.

The first proposal involved a plan by the electricity generator Nigen, which wanted to construct an incinerator on the site of the old Belfast West power station. The idea was that this would convert domestic waste to energy and, in the process, provide electricity for 15,000 homes. According to a Nigen spokesman, the scheme, which has been strongly opposed by the environmental group Friends of the Earth, has been undermined by the delays in the preparation of Northern Ireland's waste management strategy.

The second proposal for an incinerator in the harbour area of the city, to be built by Belfast Waste Services, is being opposed by Friends of the Earth, which cites its concerns about possible effects on the health of local people and the potential damage to the environment.