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EMR opens metals facility at Glasgow docks

Metal recycling company European Metal Recycling (EMR) has opened a new site at Glasgow’s Clydeport docks following a “multi-million-pound investment”.

EMR's King George V site will receive metal for recycling from commercial clients and the public for processing and shipping

EMR says the eight-acre King George V site will receive metal for recycling from commercial clients and the public for processing and shipping to customers in the UK and around the world.

The operation will charter eight deep-sea ships with the capacity to carry up to 30,000 tonnes of cargo each in the first 12 months, the company says.

EMR says each ship will produce “a fifth of the emissions, per tonne of steel carried, compared to the smaller ships typically carrying around 3,000 tonnes currently loaded on the River Clyde by EMR.”

The site will also house an end-of-life vehicle (ELV) depolluting and recycling facility and a dedicated, segregated area for members of the public and tradespeople to drop off “small quantities” of any type of metal, such as metal household goods, copper, brass, cable, and aluminium.

The project is a partnership between EMR, landlord Peel Ports Ltd (Clydeport), and developer McLaughlin & Harvey.

EMR says the site will bring 15 skilled jobs to the area and enhance the company’s existing network of Scottish sites, which are in Glasgow, Bellshill, Dundee, and Kilmarnock.

The site will feature “enhanced electrical connections”, EMR says, allowing the equipment used to be fully electrified as the company aims to transition to net zero by 2040.

‘Years of planning’

Ian Sheppard, EMR’s managing director, said: “The opening of our new site at Glasgow’s King George V docks is the culmination of years of planning and hard work by the EMR team and our partners.

Ian Sheppard is EMR’s managing director

“Scotland has been leading the way in sustainability, so we’re very excited to be joining the nation’s drive by creating a new large-scale model of a low carbon, sustainable metal recycling operation that safeguards biodiversity.

“We’re also very passionate around education of younger generations on the environmental benefits of recycling and we look forward to explaining that locally at schools.

“We know that Glasgow residents care deeply about the continued success of the docks on the River Clyde and we’re very proud to continue in their revitalisation.”

EMR operates in the UK, USA, Germany and the Netherlands and sources material from a range of public, commercial and industrial waste streams including ELVs, consumer products, industry, and construction and demolition waste.

The company says its recycling activities generate around 10 million tonnes of metals and plastics each year.

Second phase

EMR has plans for a “second phase” for the site, which will see it expand to 11.5 acres and increase its capacity for advanced ELV recycling and metal processing and separation.

The extended site will focus on processing “significant” volumes of shredder feed such as ELVs and metals from business customers and local authorities across Scotland, EMR says.

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