C-Questor Carbon Markets and Climate Change News Letter

Hi-tech plan to cut city's waste

Published Date: 03 February 2009
By Craig Brown

A £40 MILLION hi-tech recycling system is set to be brought in to tackle Glasgow's waste management problem.
The autoclave proposal will go before the city council's land and environmental services committee tomorrow. The city produces 363,367 tonnes of waste every year, only 18 per cent of which is recycled, with the majority being sent to landfill, one of the worst records in Scotland. However, Scottish Government targets for local authority recycling mean that the council could face paying £30 million to £44 million in charges and tax if it continues to rely on landfill.The autoclave would be installed at Polmadie and would be the first unit in the UK to be owned and run by a local authority. The system works by soaking the waste at high pressure and at high temperature to break it down, then using a centrifuge to spin it dry.The process separates and cleans any plastics, metal and glass, which can be sold as high-quality recyclables.One autoclave is capable of dealing with 150,000 tonnes of waste a year, and the council has said that if the system is deemed successful, it would consider adding others.