Responding to ‘the shifting nature of glass recycling’

Scotland – A ‘next-generation’ glass recycling facility will be opened in Scotland later this year, Viridor has announced. The recycler has invested £25 million (US$ 42 million) in what it claims will be ‘the UK’s most advanced glass recycling centre’.
The 70 000 sq ft plant will be located in Lanarkshire and

The 70 000 sq ft plant will be located in Lanarkshire and boast a capacity of 200 000 tonnes of glass per year – a figure equivalent to 150% of all glass packaging currently collected in Scotland. The facility will enable the country to ‘reduce reliance on imported materials for whisky and beverage bottles’ by ensuring 100% of Scottish packaging glass is fit for use by the burgeoning Scotch whisky and drinks sectors.

Glass will be collected from 17 local authorities, with the facility looking to recover up to 97% of input materials. Importantly, it will achieve ‘up to 99% product purity’ and thus exceed the quality requirements for a Scotch sector focused on high-end product packaging, Viridor notes. Such results are possible, it says, because the company has recognised ‘the shifting nature of glass recycling’ and therefore has included scientific eye optical and X-ray sorters in the plant’s design.

This latest investment effectively ‘places Scotland at the leading edge of global glass recycling’, comments Ian McAulay, chief executive at Viridor. The opening of the recycling centre will represent ‘a real boost for a Lanarkshire economy fast becoming an important base for Scotland’s green sector’, he adds.

For more information, visit: www.viridor.co.uk