The waste contractor has submitted a proposal of application notice to the council which outlines its plans to consult the public over a materials recycling facility (MRF) and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) centre on the Altens Industrial Estate south of Aberdeen.
The MRF would treat mixed recyclables collected from homes and businesses in Aberdeen which can be sorted before being sold on for reprocessing. It follows the roll out of a new commingled recycling system in areas of the city, which could replace kerbside sorting completely by 2015 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Meanwhile, the RDF facility would process and export residual waste from Aberdeen, with a view to reducing the council’s £5 million landfill tax costs. Currently, Aberdeen recycles only 37% of its waste, while the remaining 63% is sent to landfill.
The facility would also include a replacement depot for the council’s waste collection vehicles, which is currently located at Powis Terrace.
According to a local development plan prepared by SITA UK earlier this year, Aberdeen council has identified a need for around 300,000 tonnes of waste treatment capacity – which the firm has identified as one of its ‘key targets’ it hopes to meet.
EfW
SITA UK previously dropped plans in 2004 for a £40 million energy-from-waste plant to process 160,000 tonnes of the city’s waste per year as part the 25-year waste services contract it signed with the council in 2000 after it failed to secure planning permission.
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It is understood the RDF plant could be an interim solution while the council develops its proposals for a combined heat and power (CHP) EfW facility in the city. The development is part of the local authority’s waste strategy for the city up to 2025, and hopes to secure further significant investment from government, the private sector and other alternative outlets (see letsrecycle.com story).
As part of its pre-application process, SITA UK will be holding public exhibitions in January and February 2015 to enable residents to express their views on the project.
SITA UK is then expected to submit the proposals to the council for planning permission later in the spring. If approved, the Altens East facility is envisaged to open during 2016.
Community
Colin Forshaw, SITA UK’s operations manager in Aberdeen, said he was looking forward to working with the community on the plans.
Mr Forshaw: “The issue of how we deal with Aberdeen City’s waste is something that affects us all and is something that we need to address if we are to meet the Scottish Government’s challenging targets on landfill diversion.
“We appreciate people will want to know more and may be keen to get involved in the process, so we very much look forward to meeting with the community in the coming months and explaining our plans in more detail.
“The four-hectare site has been chosen as the preferred location due to its proximity to the established industrial area, is some distance from homes and is able to comfortably house the proposed facilities.”
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