Edinburgh and Midlothian prepare to let 500m contract

The project, entitled ‘Zero Waste', will cover the development and operation of a facility or facilities capable of treating up to 200,000 tonnes of waste a year and is intended to help deliver the Scottish Government's aspiration of a Zero Waste Scotland.

Originally, the councils had formed part of the broader Lothian and Borders Waste Management Project which was aiming to develop large-scale waste facilities to serve the whole region. However, this was disbanded in early 2008 following changes to Scottish Government policy which meant that councils were no longer compelled to work together, higher recycling targets were set and a 25% cap was placed on the amount of municipal waste which could be sent to incineration.

Councillors in both City of Edinburgh and Midlothian are now set to meet next Tuesday (September 22) to consider recommendations to purchase a brownfield site in the Millerhill area of Midlothian as a potential location for a waste treatment facility to be developed and thereby attract bidders when the contract is put out for tender. This will go to a meeting of Edinburgh's full council on October 17. Councillors are also being asked to agree the appointment of Pinsent and Masons as legal advisors to the project, Ernst and Young as financial advisors and ENTEC as technical advisors.

If the site purchase is agreed, planning consent will be sought and a pre-planning engagement process will begin later this year to gauge the views of the local community.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, Edinburgh council's environment leader, said: “Local authorities face significant challenges and targets in relation to the future of waste management in Scotland. However, we are determined to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost as much as we can.

“The reality is there will be waste left over for the foreseeable future and we can't continue to send this to landfill any more. This project will find the best option available to treat this waste in a sustainable and green manner,” he added.

Facility

At the moment, Edinburgh and Midlothian councils have not decided what type of facility will be built or which site it will occupy, although a spokeswoman for Edinburgh council told letsrecycle.com that it was likely to include an element of incineration, possibly in conjunction with anaerobic digestion and mechanical biological treatment facilities. Due to the Scottish Government's 25% incineration cap, the council will be limited to treating around 75-100,000 tonnes-a-year of waste in this way.

Contractors will be asked to put forward their proposals for innovative ways to meet the necessary targets and the councils will determine the best solution.

The councils hope to award a contract in 2013 and have a facility in place by 2014/15.

Gordon Pollock, project manager at City of Edinburgh council, told letsrecycle.com that it would work alongside the Scottish Futures Trust to develop a model to finance the project. He explained that this may involve the injection of funds from the public purse after the construction phase to help spread the risk.

The council stressed that alongside managing residual waste, it would be aiming to improve its recycling rates and envisaged that around 50% of municipal waste would be recycled.