Secret documents seen by the Echo reveal officials are looking into burning the city's rubbish, along with Gateshead's and South Tyneside's, to create energy in the way power stations generate electricity by burning coal and gas.

In October, Sunderland City Council teamed up with its neighbours to look into ways of dealing with the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of household waste handled by the three authorities each year.

Initial investigations into the location of the plant have already taken place, with reports saying it could be accommodated within Sunderland's boundaries.

But the controversial "Energy from Waste" system has been slammed by green campaigners who say it produces more harmful gases than conventional power stations.

Secret documents reveal that if plans did go ahead the total cost over the next three decades would be more than £1.6billion – with Sunderland paying out more than £772million.

The final decision to adopt the technology has yet to be made, and council bosses say there is no definite location for an incinerator in mind.

The technology, which is used by several authorities in the UK, including the Isle of Man, is one of a number of options put forward cut down on the amount of waste sent to landfill sites like Houghton quarry.

Other options include using bacteria to break down rubbish, sterilising it with steam treatment or continuing with landfill – but council experts say a change has to be made.

Tax-payers on Wearside face a £7million bill in taxes and fines for disposing of rubbish under strict Government and European rules if the use of landfill stays the same.

But council sources say whatever waste treatment method was chosen, the facility for it would most likely be built in Sunderland.

Friends of the Earth has heavily criticised politicians and waste companies for claiming incineration can be used to produce "green" and "renewable" energy.

But Fiona Brown, project director for the STWWMP, said modern Energy from Waste burners were much more environmentally friendly than their predecessors and a much greener option than landfill.

She said: "We cannot continue to landfill. We need to improve recycling rates and find an alternative solution for the remaining waste.

"All of the technologies have their merits but it's important to stress that there isn't necessarily one solution.

"We might choose more than one, we might use a combination of existing waste management facilities - or emerging technology might mean we use something else altogether. We simply don't know yet."

Mrs Brown said a number of possible sites for the waste treatment facility have been identified in all three council areas, but the partnership could not reveal the locations for "commercial reasons" in case the land had to be bought.

Tax-payers on Wearside face a £7million bill in taxes and fines for disposing of rubbish under strict Government and European rules if the use of landfill stays the same.