But while they may have lost the battle over Westfield, many campaigners believe the war will ultimately be won.
The Scottish Executive upheld Alba Resource Recovery's appeal to develop the facility following a 13-day public inquiry at Balgeddie Hou
se Hotel earlier this year.
The proposal had been rejected by Fife Council after councillors went against officials' advice by rejecting plans to re-develop the former open-cast mine.
They backed claims by FifeWest - which has opposed the development from the start - and refused planning permission on environmental grounds after listening to the views of over 2,000 objectors.
FifeWest member Jim Balfour told the Gazette campaigners were "devastated" by the decision to grant Alba's appeal, but said the group will continue to oppose the development.
Jim said: "Although I am not surprised by the decision, I am devastated by what this could do to local people.
"We are gutted that our arguments have not been accepted and I fear they might be shown to have been right 20 years from now when evidence of the anomalies of landfilling emerge.
"The people in this area are already more likely to suffer from lung disease and this development will only increase air pollution making this worse."
FifeWest chairman Willie Turnbull said they were initially distraught that the proposals had been approved, but vowed to continue the campaign.
Uneconomical
He said: "This development hasn't started so you can rest assured that we haven't finished.
"The planning permission has numerous conditions attached to it - many of which are a result of our hard work. We will be watching Alba to make sure they are observed."
Secretary of the Cardenden and Kinglassie Community Council, David Taylor, said: "The Scottish Executive has directed local councils to recycle their waste at kerbside, which goes against what Alba wanted to do.
"Fife Council has also indicated it will not use Alba's facilities, which means they will have to get contracts from other Scottish councils."
He added: "There is no guarantee Alba will get these contracts, making the development uneconomical."
A spokesperson for Fife Council said it is still awaiting confirmation from the Executive of its decision to approve a recycling facility at Westfield and that it would consider its response after examining the judgement.
Head of Environmental Services, Fraser Thomson, said Fife Council promotes kerbside recycling and community recycling points.
"This approach was not forced upon the council by the Scottish Executive, but is the method which received the greatest support from the public during the consultation stage of the draft Area Waste Plan.
"The council accepts there is a need for some centralised recycling facilities.
"Subject to a successful bid for Strategic Waste Funding, the council intends to invite interest from companies with expertise in the waste management field to assist in the delivery of elements of its waste management strategy."
Alba's managing director, Ken Morin, said: "We are very pleased with this decision. We haven't yet had a chance to fully digest the report, but will be doing so in due course.
"We have said from the start that our plans for Westfield are good for the environment, good for Fife and good for Scotland and we feel that the correct decision has been reached."
