A new recycling centre with increased opening hours and the ability to handle more material is to be created at Alford.
Aberdeenshire Council has confirmed that developers Kirkwood Homes will begin construction of the facility this month.
The town’s existing recycling centre on Mart Road has limited operating hours, and accepts reduced streams of materials compared to larger sites in the region.
The new “drive-in, drive-out” facility will be able to deal with an extended range of materials dropped off for recycling, including soil and rubble.
The centre will operate from Friday and Saturday, betwen 9am and 4pm, and from Sunday to Monday between 9am and 4.30pm.
The final day for collections at the current site will be Wednesday, January 15, with work on the new centre expected to be completed by the summer.
Replacement facilities during construction will be provided for cardboard, with a recycling point at the car park near Grampian Transport Museum.
A seasonal drop off point for garden waste will be provided from April.
There are other glass collection points within the village and residents can also continue to access recycling points at Insch, Inverurie and Huntly during the spring.