UK’s largest recycling plant opens

The largest recycling plant in the UK has officially opened in Livingston, Scotland.

The plant, featuring a CDE state-of-the-art wet processing system, will provide waste management services and recycled aggregates to builders, construction companies, civil contractors, utility contractors and concrete product producers.

The plant, operated by aggregate supplier Brewster Bros, has a capacity to recycle 400,000 tonnes of construction, demolition and excavation waste per year.

Soils and rubble collected at construction sites will be turned into ‘high-value’ sand and gravel with the wet processing system specifically designed to ‘process difficult construction and demolition waste materials and optimise material recovery.’

The company forecasts an annual turnover of £3m at the plant, which they say will boost the local economy and provide further job opportunities on top of all 20 job roles retained from the previous owner, Henry Gillies.

Scott Brewster, Director at Brewster Bros, said: ‘It’s an exciting day as we officially launch the UK’s largest recycling facility of this type. Our number one aim is to treat and recycle construction and demolition waste as a resource, ensuring zero waste to landfill.

‘Through significant investment into state-of-the-art recycling techniques provided by the plant supplier CDE, we are looking forward to shaping the future of the recycling industry across Scotland and beyond. This new plant should act as a game-changer for the construction industry, by saving money for our customers and ensuring they can dispose of their construction and demolition waste in a cost-effective and sustainable way.’

Stephen Boyle, strategic programme manager for Construction, Zero Waste Scotland, said: ‘In Scotland the construction sector is responsible for producing nearly half of the country’s waste, and recycling construction and demolition material has a key role to play in minimising that.

‘By recycling, we can keep materials out of landfill and in high-value use for longer, reducing the need to quarry finite virgin material and helping the environment. But what the launch of the Brewster Bros recycling plant shows is that by recycling effectively we can also generate investment and create new jobs, which is great news for Scotland.’