A new £27million recycling centre in Aberdeen is nearing completion – in advance of ambitious Scottish Government targets on reducing waste.
Council leader, Jenny Laing visited the Altens facility yesterday, in the same week the major new kerbside recycling scheme starts to go live.
The site is made up of a centre where mixed recyclables, collected from homes and businesses, will be sorted before being forwarded on for re-processing, and a plant which will transform residual waste into heat.
Other green initiatives recently backed by the local authority include a controversial £180million incinerator in Torry.
This will take waste from the city, Aberdeenshire and Moray to be burnt and turned into energy, but the plan has caused health fears in the south of the city.
However, a new European Commission report has stated that recyling rather than incineration should be the focus of new projects.
The Scottish Government has mandated that tno organic waste can be put to landfill by 2020.
Mrs Laing, said: “It’s fantastic to come along today and see the mixed recycling almost ready to go.
“When we first came here last in September the interior was empty, now with the bulk of the machinery in place, it looks even more impressive.
“We have invested massively in the future of Aberdeen in terms of reducing our environmental impact and landfill taxes while also creating new jobs.
“We have demonstrated our commitment to meeting our environmental targets and now we’d really like everyone in Aberdeen to fully embrace the new waste recycling programme and play their part”.
The development – which becomes operational in June – is being developed by SUEZ recycling and recovery on behalf of the council.
It will divert 71,000 tonnes of Aberdeen’s waste from landfill every year, which council chiefs say will save residents around £6million in landfill tax per year.
Around 65 people have been employed during construction with plans for a further 40 new, permanent jobs when operations begin.
The development site will also include a vehicle depot for the council’s waste collection fleet, which is currently located on Powis Terrace.
A number of other energy efficient techniques have been incorporated into its design, including solar panels on the building roof and energy efficient LED lights.