New masterplan for the future of Greengairs Landfill Site unveiled  

  • Major proposals aim to reduce landfill operations on the site, in line with Scottish Government’s “zero waste” strategy and landfill ban
  • £350m project includes state-of-the-art Energy from Waste (EfW) facility capable of producing both electricity and heat
  • Public Exhibitions due to begin June 2019

FCC Environment (UK) Ltd, one of the UK’s leading waste and resource management companies, is bringing forward a new masterplan for the sustainable, long-term future of its Greengairs Landfill site in North Lanarkshire. The new masterplan is in direct response to the Scottish Government’s “zero waste” strategy and the forthcoming ban on the landfilling of food, paper, garden and any other biodegradable household waste before the January 1st 2021.

The Scottish Government has identified a significant shortfall in developed waste treatment facilities capable of dealing with this waste after the introduction of the ban. FCC’s proposed multi-million-pound, state-of-the-art waste management complex is designed to deal with this shortfall, whilst maintaining the current employment at Greengairs, as well as creating hundreds of new construction jobs and long-term high-quality employment opportunities throughout its lifetime.

Central to this masterplan will be the construction of an Energy from Waste facility, the Drumgray Energy Recovery Centre (DERC) that will receive pre-treated residual, non-hazardous waste otherwise destined for landfill.  FCC will use proven energy-from-waste technology, which will thermally treat the waste to generate electricity and heat. The Drumgray ERC will accept up to 300,000 tonnes of residual household and business waste per year, enough to export circa 25.5MW of electricity and the potential to supply heat to local homes and businesses.

FCC own and operate six EfW facilities throughout the UK, with the most recent one developed at Millerhill, just outside Edinburgh. In partnership with Midlothian and The City of Edinburgh Councils, FCC designed, constructed, financed and now operate the Millerhill facility, which now accepts the residual, household waste from within the two local authorities.

With the Proposal of Application Notice (PoAN) now submitted to North Lanarkshire Council (20th May), this has kick-started a comprehensive consultation programme. Public exhibitions are due to be held next month, allowing interested parties the opportunity to find out more about what is proposed at the Greengairs Landfill site and importantly provide feedback and comment. Taking place over two days in the villages of Greengairs and Plains, members of the development team and representatives from FCC Environment will be on hand to provided further details and answer questions, with those interested, encouraged to come along and play a part in this major proposed investment into North Lanarkshire.

Speaking following the submission of the PoAN, Gillian Sinclair, Development Manager from FCC Environment said: “This marks an important and exciting milestone in the future of the Greengairs Landfill site. The way that waste is dealt with in Scotland is changing rapidly and as a leading operator in this field we need to be agile to this. This masterplan represents a significant investment into North Lanarkshire and by using proven, energy-from-waste technology, we are moving away from the landfilling of biodegradable waste to be in line with the Scottish Government’s “zero waste” strategy.

“As the Greengairs masterplan continues to take shape, FCC very much look forward to continuing to engage with the local community and stakeholders over the coming months, allowing them to view, comment and take part in this next chapter for the Greengairs site.”

Along with the development of the EfW facility, the Greengairs masterplan will set out the future and reduced operation of the existing landfill site. The Scottish Government’s landfill ban will only affect biodegradable waste, meaning there will still be a requirement for some waste to go to landfill. The Greengairs site is well positioned to accept this waste, albeit at a significantly reduced capacity than it currently does.

The first round of public consultation events are due to take place next month, with a second round of events due to take place later this summer, with FCC proposing to submit a planning application to North Lanarkshire Council later this year

Associated Businesses

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