The company already operates a fridge recycling plant in Gateshead, north east England. It says that the proposed facility at Glenfarg, near Perth, will be one of the “most technologically advanced fridge recycling and processing facilities in the world”.
If approved by planners, the Scottish plant would have a capacity to recycle more than 24,000 tonnes of WEEE (Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment) which the company says is equivalent to more than 650,000 fridges a year. The development would create 50 jobs plus 20 more jobs associated with the new facility’s supply chain, Gap Group claimed.
Scotland is lacking in fridge recycling infrastructure, partly because of fires at the Shore fridge and WEEE recycling site at Perth’s Friarton industrial estate, the most recent being in February 2023 (see letsrecycle.com story).
It is understood that many fridges from Scotland are currently being bulked up and taken for processing to the GAP fridge plant in Gateshead.
GAP Alba
As part of what GAP describes as its “ongoing drive for ethical and environmentally sustainable growth” the new facility will come under the banner of the group’s newly created Scottish subsidiary GAP Alba.
The Binn Eco Park is a 62 acre eco-park site which is already home to a number of green energy and environmental businesses.
Binn Group itself is one of Scotland’s largest independent and leading providers of integrated recycling and waste management services and it is planned that the firm will play a key role in the logistics to support the new GAP Alba facility. Binn Group is also due to supply renewable energy from its own private renewable energy grid to power the plant and assist with the safe disposal of outputs such as fridge gasses and polyurethane which will be used as an energy from waste feedstock.
Peter Moody, group chief executive of GAP Group said: “Scotland has always been a key part of our business and we have provided services to the Borders region for over 15 years. We are very excited to be launching the next phase of our planned expansion in Scotland and take our responsibilities as ecologically committed and ethical green recycling pioneers very seriously.”
“With this in mind I’m delighted that we will be working closely with Binn Group at their site outside Perth and I’m looking forward to a long and happy working relationship with a like minded organisation with a proven track record of excellence in the waste management sector.”
Binn Group
Brian Harkins managing director at Binn Group said: “This development holds immense significance for our organisation as it enhances our environmental sustainability capabilities at our Eco-Park site. It also underscores Scotland’s capacity to responsibly recycle thousands of tonnes of WEEE to the highest (WEEELABEX) standards, reaffirming our commitment to an environmentally sustainable future and representing a significant step toward a carbon-zero economy.”
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