Bright future beckons for Scott Bros
Commissioning work underway on recycling firm’s £4 million ‘urban quarry’
COMMISSIONING of Scott Bros’ new waste-recycling plant on Teesside is underway with the ‘urban quarry’ expected to be fully operational in March 2023. The hi-tech wash plant – capable of processing up to 300 tons of construction and excavation waste per hour and converting this into sustainably produced sand and aggregate – is one of the largest of its kind anywhere in the UK.
Situated next to the Teesworks industrial zone, construction on the plant began 15 months ago and the latest in green technology is now being commissioned by wet-processing experts CDE. The new development has created at least seven jobs, safeguarded the future of a further 54, and will provide the family-run Scott Bros business with a major revenue stream for decades to come.
The decision to make the huge investment came after the company’s current washing plant – which manages up to 50 tons of inert material per hour – was unable to meet the construction industry’s increasing demand for high-quality recycled aggregate and sand.
The urban quarry itself is designed to recycle all the water used in the process, including the moisture from all feed material, while Scott Bros’ long-term aim is that the facility will be powered by renewable energy which, they say, would make it the world’s first carbon neutral waste-recycling wash plant.
When commissioned, the £4 million state-of-the-art wash plant will produce high-quality building sand and sharp sand, as well as five different grades of aggregate, ranging from 5–10mm up to 60–120mm. It will also create a dry filter cake suitable for use as low-value BS-certified pond lining material or inert engineering fill.
Peter Scott, director of Scott Bros, said: ‘This urban quarry is one of the largest anywhere in the UK and has proved an exciting but complex project. We are now putting inert material through as part of the rigorous testing and commissioning process which should be completed within six weeks. Once that is complete, we can start meeting the construction industry’s demand for sustainably sourced sand and aggregate.
Fellow director Bob Borthwick added: ‘This is a huge leap forward in Scott Bros’ capabilities as a circular business, allowing us to more than triple our ability to recycle excavation and construction waste. This wash plant is fundamental to our future [and] allows Scott Bros to create and preserve jobs, while diverting material from landfill and preserving the planet’s natural resources. There is huge demand for recycled sand and aggregate, which is also good news for the wider Teesside economy.’
