The seven sites across Oxfordshire big enough to house an incinerator have been revealed.

Twenty-eight sites were originally chosen as future waste management depots, but now the list has been whittled down.

Last week, Oxfordshire County Council said it was "duty bound" to tell companies which sites had been selected before it informed the public.

But County Hall has finally revealed its shortlist to the Oxford Mail after we reported the authority was on the verge of selecting how it would dispose of waste after 2012.

Incineration is seen as the most likely method.

The seven shortlisted sites are the only ones identified by consultants as being capable of handling the amount of waste that needs to be dealt with.

And no other waste disposal solutions have been tendered by companies bidding for Oxfordshire's waste treatment contract, leaving energy from waste - as incineration is also known - the only viable option.

Next month, County Hall is expected to announce the preferred site.

Andrew Wood, of Oxford Friends of the Earth, said: "There is no good site for an incinerator.

"We should be looking to reduce the waste and considering more sustainable alternatives following a flexible waste strategy.

"There is substantial public opposition to this and there are alternatives to burning waste that can be built quicker.

"At the moment, we are looking at our options and will consider legal action when the site is announced."

The shortlisted sites are: Sutton Courtenay, Gosford grain silo near Kidlington, Ardley Quarry near Bicester, Shipton-on-Cherwell near Kidlington, a site west of the M40 near Banbury, Culham Science Centre near Abingdon and land at Banbury Cross Business Park.

Last year, Shipton Quarry was touted as a possible venue for a 5,000-home eco-town and a solution to Oxford's chronic housing shortage.

Chris Cousins, the county council's head of sustainable development, said: "These sites have been identified by consultants as capable of delivering a facility handling the necessary throughput of waste that will need to be diverted from landfill.

"The council has taken no formal view on any of these sites.

"It is for the bidders in the tendering process to propose and justify the sites they have in mind and their suitability for the technology they are proposing.

"It is now well documented the only bidders left in the process are proposing energy from waste."

Pro-incineration Didcot South county councillor Terry Joslin said the countdown was now on to select the final site, but the tendering process was commercially confidential and would not be made public.

He added: "The proposed incinerator would pose no hazard at all.

"There is no basis at all for legal action and I would advise Friends of the Earth not to waste their money."