A waste disposal authority has hit back after an MP supported a petition to stop a waste plant campaigners say could cost the taxpayer £3billion.

Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone encouraged residents to sign the Pinkham Way Alliance’s current petition to halt the contract due to be awarded by the North London Waste Authority (NLWA).

Campaigners claim the agreement, which will affect seven north London boroughs including Haringey and Enfield, is based on inaccurate data and will mean taxpayers will be paying for it for decades to come.

The Liberal Democrat MP claims she previously worked with the alliance to stop the NLWA from building a waste plant in Pinkham Way, in Southgate.

Pinkham Way, in Southgate, where the North London Waste Authority hopes to build a new waste disposal facility

However Councillor Clyde Loakes, the chairman of the waste authority, disputed the claims made by Ms Featherstone and the campaigners.

He said: “The Mayor’s London Plan means that local authorities now have to manage more of their residents’ waste locally, rather than sending it to landfill sites outside London.

“This means that new facilities need to be built to manage waste in north London.

“It’s always a good idea if politicians check their facts before making public statements – it is simply not true that anyone has prevented us building the facilities we need.

“Nor have any planning applications been rejected – in fact the Pinkham Way site remains central to NLWA’s future requirements.”

In its online petition, the alliance claims the 30-year contract is based on waste predictions over an “absurdly long” period and caters for a fixed amount of rubbish to be treated for all these years.

They say this means taxpayers could be fined if they do not produce enough rubbish.

Mr Loakes said the most accurate and up-to-date figures were used when drawing up the agreement.

He said: “NLWA is now at an advanced stage of a procurement process to award a contract for managing north London’s waste, which will include building new facilities.

“Building new waste facilities is very expensive and this expense has to be paid off over the life of a long-term contract.

“The procurement began in 2010 and during this time NLWA’s projections for the amount of waste that will need to be managed have been regularly updated.

“They are then externally reviewed by independent experts, to ensure that future plans are based on the most accurate and up to date figures possible.”

To view the petition by the Pinkham Way Alliance, click here.