SCOTS can toast their own recycling success this Hogmanay.
That was the message from Viridor – the Scot’s recycling, renewable energy and resource efficiency company – which reported a bumper year for helping communities, councils and companies recycle more of what we throw away.
Says the spokesperson: “The company, which operates Scotland’s most advanced network of recycling technologies, helped Scots recycle the equivalent of 428.5m glass bottles and over 350,000 televisions from across Scotland in 2010 – part of a larger effort to recycle more, diverting waste resources from landfill.
“The company, which is investing £800m in ‘next generation’ recycling and waste infrastructure, recovered the 428.5 million bottles at its state-of-the-art-glass recycling depot at Bonnyrigg, Midlothian.
“The specialist depot recycles glass from eighteen councils across the country in addition to serving private sector customers at locations from the Scottish borders and the Central Belt up to the Scottish Highlands.
“Once received, Viridor uses the latest advanced glass recycling technology to sort and separate the glass, removing impurities such as china and Pirex before crushing and blending into valuable cullet for remanufacture.
“Sustainability continues, with the cullet utilised in Scotland, making a new generation of glass products, insulation for Scottish homes, or aggregate for Scottish roads.”
The spokesperson added: “The company also reported the recycling of over 350,000 televisions – a 60 per cent year-on-year increase as Scots upgraded for the World Cup and as part of the digital switchover.
“The TVs, along with a broad range of electrical and electronic equipment including 230,000 fridges from 96 per cent of Scotland’s local authorities are processed at Viridor’s WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) authorised treatment facility at Friarton Bridge site in Perth where 95 per cent of components are recycled for remanufacture.”
Commenting, Martin Grey, Scottish communications manager for Viridor, said: “2010 has been a bumper year for recycling in Scotland. The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets and as Scots we’re responding well. With over 428.5m glass bottles recycled by Viridor alone, we can all raise a glass to toast our success this Hogmanay.
“What’s more, there’s good news for those bringing in the bells watching TV. In addition to paper, plastics, cans and bottles, recycling electronic and electrical items such as TVs, fridges, computers and small electrical items has become a real Scottish success story with Viridor recycling over 350,000 TVs from across Scotland in the last year alone.”
Commenting on the challenges for 2011, Mr Grey added:
“Our bumper year for recycling is good news for sustainability in Scotland and marks a key milestone on the road to delivering the Scottish Government’s zero waste strategy but we’re not resting on our laurels.
“We’re already seeing an increase in the volume of recycling of ‘big ticket’ items as consumers rush to replace old items and beat the VAT increase but Zero waste won’t happen without a network of new ‘next generation’ Green infrastructure on the ground.
“That’s why to continue making progress Viridor is supporting the public and private sectors meet ambitious targets by investing up to £800m in Scotland in the latest advanced technologies to recycle more and recover renewable energy from what remains.
“2010 has been a great year. Let’s toast to an even brighter future.”
Notes for editors:
ELECTRICAL RECYCLING
- Opened in 2003, Viridor’s Perth facility is Scotland’s only dedicated Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling facility, working on behalf of producer compliance schemes covering 96 per cent of Scottish local authorities.
- The location was the first UK facility to employ the latest MeWa WEEE recycling technology and recycles 95 per cent of components from TVs, fridges and small domestic appliances.
- The facility recycled over 50,000 tonnes of electronic and electrical items in Scotland over the last two years including resources from 625,000 fridges alone.
- Viridor Perth delivers impressive results, including a 60 per cent year-on-year increase in recycling of televisions and small electrical items since the adoption of the WEEE directive in 1997.
- The facility recycles around 330,000 TVs, 230,000 fridges and around 10,000 tonnes of small domestic appliances such as irons, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, telephones and games consoles from across Scotland each year.
GLASS RECYCLING
- Opened in 2003, Viridor’s Bonnyrigg facility is one of Scotland’s most advanced glass recycling facilities, supporting 56 per cent of Scottish local authorities and thousands of Scottish businesses.
- Recycling just 1,000 bottles saves 120 grams of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.
- The location employs advanced Mogensen recycling technology and recycles 95 per cent of the glass supplied, with the remainder (bottle tops etc) sent for onward processing.
- Over 85 per cent of the material is absorbed in the Scottish market, making a new generation of glass products, insulation for Scottish homes, or aggregate for Scottish roads.
- The facility recycles up to 100,000 tonnes of glass per annum.
VIRIDOR
- Part of the FTSE 250 Pennon Group, Viridor is one Scotland’s leading recycling, renewable energy and resource efficiency partners, working with 96 per cent of Scottish local authorities and some of the biggest names in Scottish business such as Scottish Power, RBS, BAE Systems and Coca Cola Enterprises.
- Operating the nation’s most advanced network of recycling and waste infrastructure, the company has £225m of planned investment in ‘next generation’ green infrastructure in the Scottish planning system and a further £575m of investment in the pipeline to turn Scottish policy into practice.
- Viridor delivers the full range of recycling, energy recovery and waste management services including:* Scotland’s most advanced Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) opened in 2009 by Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead MSP, for plastic, paper, card and cans.
* One of Scotland’s only dedicated Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) reprocessing facility.
* One of Scotland’s leading glass recycling facilities.
* Secure landfill disposal and waste to energy facilities in the East and West of Scotland.
* Wood recycling, special waste, construction waste and waste transfer facilities in the East and West of Scotland.
* Household waste recycling centres.
* Commercial recycling and waste collection fleets in the East and West of Scotland.
- The company handles over eight million tonnes of material each year, recycling over one-and-a-half million tonnes and generating 84 megawatts of renewable energy.
- All sites and services are operated under the company’s business management system incorporating ISO14001 (Environmental Management), ISO9001 (Quality Management) and OHSAS 18001 (Health and Safety) standards, and formally accredited by BSI. These are the highest recognised international standards, ensuring continuous improvement in these key areas and providing assurance to customers and communities alike.
MEDIA RELEASE posted by Viridor. You too can post media releases (aka press releases) on allmediascotland.com. For more information, email here.
Contact: Martin Grey
Email: mgrey@viridor.co.uk
Website: http://www.viridor.co.uk
