Viridor unveil £25 million glass recycling plant
New facility in North Lanarkshire capable of processing up to 200,000 tonnes of glass a year
VIRIDOR have opened a new £25 million glass recycling facility in North Lanarkshire that will process material from 17 Scottish local authorities. The 70,000 sq ft plant, at Newhouse, – which has the capacity to recycle 200,000 tonnes of glass every year – houses 15 optical sorters, x-ray sorters, over 500m of conveyor belts and 2.5km of electrical cabling across three floors of processing towers.
According to Viridor, the glass recycling plant will recover up to 97% of input materials – achieving up to 99% product purity and exceeding the quality requirements for product packaging. It is hoped the new plant will reduce the need for industries, such as Scotch whiskey, to import glass by increasing the availability of high-quality recycled glass.
Speaking at the official opening of the facility, Ian McAulay, chief executive of Viridor, commented: ‘Newhouse brings the UK’s most advanced glass recycling centre home to the central belt and places Scotland at the leading edge of global glass recycling.
‘A vital key in unlocking Scottish Government circular economy policy, this latest investment will not only help drive glass recycling and sustainability, but will also be a real boost for a Lanarkshire economy fast becoming an important base for Scotland’s green sectors.’
