The way waste is disposed of in Oxfordshire in the future will be known within 18 months.

Oxfordshire County Council has set itself a target of autumn 2008 to sign a contract for new facilities, which could be waste-burning incinerators.

A shortlist is to be drawn up by the spring and a year later a preferred bidder chosen.

The authority, which is responsible for disposing of the county's waste, has said it is 'technology neutral' and has not yet decided.

But a scrutiny committee has already recommended incineration as the way forward.

Earlier this year County Hall agreed to place advertisements in a European Union journal to begin the procurement process.

County councillor Roger Belson, cabinet member for sustainable development said: "People in Oxfordshire have made a fantastic job of recycling and reducing the amount of waste they produce.

"They are among the best in the country and we thank them for that.

"We also want to look at short-term measures, such as in-vessel composting, that would further reduce the amount we send to landfill by treating food waste collected by the district councils.

"I am confident that we can achieve a workable, value for money future for the disposal of Oxfordshire's waste."

In April this year, County Hall said incinerators would only be built if they were safe and able to produce electricity.

A spokesman said: "Whatever the county council chooses will have to be environmentally safe.

"There is no question of building incinerators that do not produce electricity nor building to unsafe standards of earlier years."

Councils face penalties for continuing to send waste to landfill sites - £150 for each tonne sent, which could mean a fine of £4.35m for the council in 2009.

Oxfordshire produces the lowest amount of waste per head of any county in the country and recycles about 33 per cent of what it produces - but that is still short of the levels of most European countries.

Oxfordshire Waste Partnership has agreed targets to increase recycling to 40 per cent by 2009/10 and 55 per cent by 2019/20.

New waste treatment arrangements are unlikely to be up and running before 2011/12 so the council is looking at interim actions that might reduce use of landfill between now and 2009.

Oxford Friends of the Earth has estimated the county council has received nearly 2,000 written objections to the use of incineration.

Spokesman Andrew Wood said: "The toxic ash, pollution and long contracts mean incineration is the worst possible way to treat Oxfordshire's waste."