Representatives from Metro Vancouver's Zero Waste Committee will be in Nanaimo tonight to talk about site possibilities for a $500-million incinerator that would process 700,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Environmental researchers and scientists have said waste-to-energy technology is the best way to deal with the Metro Vancouver region's excess garbage, but local residents and officials from the Fraser Valley Regional District have voiced opposition, citing pollution concerns.

A Metro Vancouver politician says concerns in Nanaimo over garbage incineration are premature.

Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie, chair of the Zero Waste Committee, says Nanaimo is just one of many places they are reaching out to.

"A letter was sent out to all the regions on the island, most of the regions in the province, to say if there were waste to energy sited in your area, what would be the criteria that you'd be looking at," he said. "Because that's what we're now trying to do, is come up with some of that site criteria."

Brodie says there are currently no concrete plans for an incinerator in Nanaimo.