The centre, described as “state-of-the-art” by managers SITA, aims to recycle 40% of waste it receives and will replace the council's Ness civic amenity site that closed on 16 June.
The new facility relies on residents who bring rubbish to the site to separate their waste into the correct containers. The centre collects glass, cans, paper, textiles, batteries, oil, scrap metal, garden waste, soil and rubble as well as household rubbish and some hazardous waste all in separate bins. In contrast, the Ness site, also run by SITA, accepted unsegregated waste, waste oil and batteries.
Peter Lawrence, area manager in Scotland for SITA, said: “The centre represents a great opportunity for Aberdeen to make use of waste as a resource and allow more value to be extracted from it, rather than send it to landfill.”
The ease of access and range of facilities would make it faster and easier for residents to recycle their waste, he explained, adding: “This is very important as householders using the centre have a big part to play in its success, ensuring their waste is properly separated before depositing it at the facility.”
The centre's location on East Tullos Industrial Estate was chosen to make public use as convenient as possible. A spokesman for SITA commented: “This site is a lot more central than the Ness site. That was on the Coast Road, but this site is more available for people going about their daily business.”
The centre is expected to be visited by up to 1,000 vehicles per day and receive up to 8,000 tonnes of waste per year. It is hoped it will help Aberdeen to meet its target of recycling 25% of its household waste by 2005. The city's overall recycling rate in 2000 was 5.9%.
Aberdeen has a number of bring banks, but no kerbside recycling scheme. SITA operates three other civic amenity sites for the city council, which collect paper, glass, cans, textiles, waste oil and green waste.
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