Scottish Water opens 2.2 million composting facility

One of the most advanced composting facilities in Scotland, the 2.2 million site at Deerdykes, near Cumbernauld, can process over 30,000 tonnes of green waste a year.

Ross Finnie and Charlie Dimmock plant a tree to mark the opening of the Deerdykes facility

The facility, which began taking waste in March (see letsrecycle.com story) was “recycled” by Scottish Water's Waste Services from a disused waste water treatment plant.

Now the site analyses and screens waste leaves, wood chips and branches before composting the material using both open-air and computer-controlled in-vessel technology.

Scottish Water are already treating green waste for North Lanarkshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, Argyll & Bute and Glasgow councils, and some private contractors.

“Sophisticated”
Speaking at the opening last week, which was also attended by celebrity gardener Charlie Dimmock, Mr Finnie said: “The work carried out here at Scottish Water's composting plant is an excellent example of a sophisticated, modern and scientific approach to reducing the amount of landfill we generate and turning waste into a sustainable resource.

He added: “We are well on track to reaching our 25 percent recycling and composting target. We must continue to build on that success by encouraging local authorities and others to consider use of compost in their work.”

Donald MacBrayne, Waste Services Manager at Scottish Water, said: “The Deerdykes facility is the largest project of its kind in Scotland. The fact that 30,000 tonnes of green waste is now being processed each year is a huge milestone, and already indicates the success of the project.”

Product
The Deerdykes site, which was one of the finalists in this year's Awards for Excellence facility design category, can produce around 15,000 tonnes of organic compost a year. The site's compost product is being marketed using the brand name “Pod”.

The compost, which meets the British Institution's standard of PAS 100, has already been used in several large scale landscaping and restoration projects, including 500 tonnes to turn a steelworks into a business park at the Gartcosh Business Interchange in Lanarkshire.

Mr MacBrayne said: “Deerdykes is a plant that is at the cutting edge of recycling and which offers not just the best possible facilities for our customers, but produces a high quality of compost material. We’re committed to building on this achievement and investing further in environmental sustainability in the future.”

WRAP
The composting project received 590,000 funding from WRAP's Organics Capital Support Programme.

WRAP’s supply programme manager for organics, Louise Hollingworth said: “WRAP was delighted to support this commercially sound project which is now contributing towards the positive development of Scotland’s recycling and landfill diversion objectives.

She added: “The project will also give Scottish Water the capability of composting kitchen waste materials, thereby providing local authorities with additional flexibility in meeting their recycling obligations.”