Recycling plant gets green light
A MAJOR new recycling plant that will create enough power for 7,000 homes in West Lothian has been given the go-ahead.
The 70 million facility, which has been earmarked for a site in Bathgate, will have the capacity to process all of the county's commercial, industrial and residential waste.
The plant – which its developers say will be the largest of its kind in Scotland – will be able to produce power using the gases given off during the decomposition of the waste at the site.
It is one of a number of such plants currently in the pipeline at various sites across the Lothians in an attempt to cut the amount of waste being sent to landfill, while at the same time producing more renewable energy.
West Lothian Council is currently developing plans for its own site in Livingston, which it hopes will be up and running by late 2011. Both Edinburgh City Council and Midlothian Council have also lodged plans for an incinerator which would heat homes by burning rubbish.
Strict environmental targets mean councils must be recycling 40 per cent of their waste by the end of this year.
The Bathgate facility, which uses the process of anaerobic digestion, is being developed by Hamilton-based Banks Developments in partnership with West Lothian firm Scotwaste at their site in Whitburn Road.
Planning permission for the facility was granted last week, despite objections and concerns from residents living directly behind the facility.
Planning approval for the site follows more than two years of local consultation about the plans.
Colin Anderson, managing director of Banks Property Development, said: "This decision is a landmark in the drive to deliver Scotland's zero-waste strategy.
"Pond Green Energy Park provides West Lothian and the wider central belt with a local solution to its own waste, as well as delivering renewable energy."
The firm said the plant would be capable of handling around 105,000 tonnes of waste every year, with the wider facility, including a significant expansion of the existing Scotwaste recycling operations, expected to process a further 95,000 tonnes.
At full capacity, the plant will provide enough electricity to power more than 7,000 homes and enough heat to serve the equivalent of more than 9,000 homes.
However, it is understood West Lothian Council plans to use its own facility for residential waste, with the Bathgate site likely to win its business from private firms.
WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT WORKS
ANAEROBIC digestion is the natural breakdown of waste by bacteria.
The gas produced, a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane, can be used as a renewable energy source by helping to generate electricity.
After removing the carbon dioxide, the gas becomes renewable natural gas or biomethane, which can be used for heating or vehicle fuel.
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Weather for Bathgate
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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