Councillors in Orkney have been told that is “not technically viable” to generate energy locally from the county’s waste.
This information was included in a report looking at the council’s plans for waste disposal, delivered to councillors on the local authority’s Development & Infrastructure committee on Tuesday.
The report recommended that prior to waste being shipped out of the county to Shetland – which is the current status quo at £190 per tonne – it should be pre-treated to recover any metal in the material.
Under these plans, it is being recommended that a new waste facility is built. The proposed new waste facility would include an In Vessel Composter for organic waste, be capable of mechanical pre-treatment for residual waste, and include a sorting facility for mixed dry recyclable materials.
This would be sited in Hatston Industrial Estate, in Kirkwall, at the site of the old abattoir and would replace the waste transfer station at Chinglebraes, St Ola, which has been used since 1976.
The cost of these plans comes in at £17m, although Orkney council is hoping that £12m of this will come from a grant through the Scottish Government’s recycling improvement fund.
Orkney recycling rate below the national average
While energy production from waste was investigated it was found to be unviable due to the relatively low amount of waste being produced and a lack of suitable technology which would comply with both environmental permitting and health and safety.
The council has been looking into the matter both to address concerns over the current waste management arrangements and to meet more stringent recycling targets.
The Scottish Government has set a target of 70% by 2025.
The latest figures show that Orkney’s current recycling rate is 18.8% compared with a Scottish average of 44.9%.
Councillors approved the recommendations of the report with the recommendation of siting the new facility at the old abattoir going to the council’s Asset-management sub-committee.