Local communities in Aberdeenshire are being invited to get involved in SITA UK's plans to develop a new resource recovery park at a series of exhibitions.
SITA UK has submitted a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) to Aberdeenshire Council outlining its plans to develop the Stoneyhill Resource Recovery Park as part of its contract to manage the treatment and disposal of the county's non-recycled waste for the next 15 years.
The proposed resource recovery park would utilise modern, sophisticated waste treatment technology to divert waste from landfill, in line with Scotland's Zero Waste Policy, including a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility, incorporating in-vessel composting (IVC) and a gasification plant.
These would be developed adjacent to the existing Stoneyhill landfill site, which is 1.5km west of Longhaven and 7km south west of Peterhead, and would lead to the creation of approximately 200 jobs during construction and 35 permanent operational jobs.
As part of its pre-application consultation process, the company is hosting exhibitions, where local people can have their say and influence the plans.
Exhibitions will be held in March at Longhaven Hall, near to the Stoneyhill site, and at The Red House Hotel in Cruden Bay, where the plans will be on display, along with a selection of concept designs of the facility.
Members of the public will be asked to give their opinions on potential designs before SITA UK's planning team finalises the proposal.
A second set of exhibitions will then be held in May, at the same venues, where the final proposal will be on display.
The first set of exhibitions will be held at:
Longhaven Hall, Longhaven, Tuesday, March 15, from 11am to 6.30pm
Red House Hotel, Aulton Road, Cruden Bay, Wednesday, March 16, noon to 8pm
The company is aiming to submit a planning application to Aberdeenshire Council during the first half of this year. As part of the development, SITA UK will set up the Stoneyhill Community Fund, which would offer financial assistance to worthy projects in the local community.
The company's plans for modern, sophisticated waste treatment facilities will divert waste from landfill and recover as much value as possible from the 100,000 tonnes of residual household waste that is produced by homes in Aberdeenshire every year.
Residual waste is waste from household sources that has not been separated out for recycling.
At present, Aberdeenshire produces about 150,000 tonnes of household waste a year, out of which 50,000 tonnes is sent for recycling, while the remaining 100,000 tonnes is sent to landfill.
If SITA UK's plans are given the go-ahead, the amount of residual waste sent to landfill in the county will be reduced by about 70 per cent.
Martin Cracknell, SITA UK's Strategic Development Manager in Scotland, said: "The issue of how we deal with Aberdeenshire's waste is something that has to be addressed if we are to meet Government targets and SITA UK believes that a facility that combines both gasification and mechanical biological treatment is the best option.
"We appreciate that people will have strong views and will want to get involved, so we are inviting everyone to come and look at the plans and the selection of designs and then let us know what they think. It is important that the whole community engages in the project.
"Household waste is something that affects everyone, so we all need to be involved to find the solutions."
The resource recovery park will be in line with Scotland's Zero Waste Policy, which seeks to make the most efficient use of resources by minimising the country's demand on primary resources and maximising the reuse, recycling and recovery of resources, instead of treating them as waste.
The aim is to minimise the levels of waste currently being put into landfill by increasing recovery rates and treating the non-recycled waste through mechanical biological treatment and gasification plant, which will produce electricity for the National Grid.