Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Up to 60 jobs will be created in £7.7 million deposit return scheme in north-east

Work at the Biffa centre in Portlethen is expected to be completed by May ahead of the launch of DRS in August.

The deposit return scheme is set to create 60 jobs. Image: Stock.
The deposit return scheme is set to create 60 jobs. Image: Stock.

Up to 60 jobs are being created in Aberdeenshire as part of a multi-million-pound project that will see the north-east play a pivotal role in Scotland’s deposit return scheme (DRS).

Biffa is investing £7.7 million to transform a former engineering depot on the Badentoy Industrial Estate in Portlethen into a recycling centre.

Following the launch of DRS in the summer, the centre is part of a network of Biffa-run facilities across Scotland that will count, sort and bale billions of drinks containers collected through the scheme each year by the waste management company.

The material will then be sold to be recycled back into brand new bottles and cans.

Work on the site started earlier this month, with equipment due to be installed from April.

Work is expected to be completed by May ahead of the launch of DRS in August.

‘Progressing well’ with plans

Around 60 jobs will be created at the new Biffa facility, from multi-skilled operatives and drivers, to administrators, supervisors and managers.

Recruitment for managerial positions has already started, with other roles due to be advertised from March.

Gavin Money, Biffa’s DRS operations director, said: “Working closely with the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland, we’re progressing well with the exciting and ambitious plans for the launch of DRS in Scotland, which will see new recycling infrastructure developed across the country.

“Aberdeen will play a key role as a regional collection and counting hub, handling some of the billions of plastic, glass and metal drinks containers collected each year from across Scotland.”

David Harris, Circularity Scotland chief executive, said: “The deposit return scheme will transform how Scotland recycles, preventing billions of bottles and cans each year from ending up as waste and helping protect our environment for generations to come.

“The development of the site is further evidence of the progress being made as we prepare for the scheme to go live in August.”

DRS aims to ensure that at least 90% of recyclable drinks containers are captured and prevented from becoming waste.

From August 16, all drinks producers and everyone selling single-use drinks containers is required to take part in the deposit return scheme.

How does the deposit scheme work?

A refundable 20p deposit will apply to all single-use PET plastic, aluminium, steel or glass drinks containers ranging in size from 50ml to three litres.

People will be able to return their bottles and cans to thousands of shops across Scotland.

Some venues will accept items over the counter, while larger stores, shopping centres and transport hubs will operate automatic collection points known as reverse vending machines.

Circularity Scotland is also working with Biffa to explore the opportunity to build a PET recycling plant in Scotland to support the scheme and deliver further employment opportunities.


Don’t miss: Scotland’s 20p bottle and can recycling rules: Five key questions

Conversation