An incinerator in Newhaven to burn rubbish from Brighton, Hove and East Sussex is expected to become operational in six years.

The contractor poised to win the £1 billion private finance deal wants to have a burner working at North Quay, Newhaven, by 2009.

Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex County Council will decide next week whether to award the 25-year contract to Onyx Aurora.

Opponents have called for the decision to be delayed until the results of a public inquiry into waste plans which underpin the deal are known in mid-2004.

Onyx Aurora proposes building a burner capable of incinerating 225,000 tonnes of rubbish a year at North Quay and a smaller plant to deal with surplus waste at Pebsham, Bexhill.

Both councils said neither of the two major plants were likely to win planning permission until after the inquiry.

Four smaller recycling centres at North Quay, Pebsham, Hollingdean in Brighton and Maresfield camp could win consent sooner, as could an industrial-scale composting plant at Golden Cross, near Hailsham.

Bob Wilkins, the county council's head of transport and environment, said the contract was the right solution economically and environmentally.

Critics said there should be more recycling and concerns about the possible health effects of incineration had not been fully answered.

Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth campaigner Alison Walters said: "It is outrageous that both councils can agree this contract before people have had their say."

Onyx Aurora is expected to sign the contract before the end of next month if the councils agree the deal next week.