The grant is conditional, however, depending on the success of a public private partnership (PPP) contract being put out to tender by Midlothian and other councils.
Paid out at an annual rate of 3.1 million, the funding would be used to provide widespread segregated collection of materials for recycling and a waste management complex with a built-in education centre.
Midlothian, just south of Edinburgh, could be joined by neighbouring councils in using the facility in order to deliver significant economies of scale.
Commenting on the decision to award the annual funding, Scottish environment and rural development minister Ross Finnie said: “In Midlothian, money from the Strategic Waste Fund will be invested in an integrated project to enable the council to recover 65% of the 50,000 tonnes of waste which it landfills each year.”
The PPP negotiating process is expected to take between 12 months to two years to complete and will involve dealing with the 50,000 tonnes of municipal waste produced each year by Midlothian residents. The tender is likely to involve other councils as well, so that it could require capacities for handling “up to 100,000, 200,000 or 300,000 tonnes each year”.
The combining of the council services into the single PPP contract is expected to lead to “significant economies of scale will result in cost savings compared to inviting separate tenders”, a statement from the Scottish Executive said.
Mr Finnie explained: “The project will cover a number of initiatives to help Midlothian Council deliver greener waste services. The Council will increase the number of recycling sites and provide widespread door-to-door waste collection services. The public private partnership (PPP) contract will ensure that as much waste as possible is recycled or composted with only a third being landfilled.”
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