Visualisation of Viridor’s GRREC at Polmadie

Construction has begun on a new advanced waste treatment facility in Polmadie, Glasgow.

Once operational, Viridor’s £154 million Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre (GRREC) will have capacity to handle 200,000 tonnes of residual waste every year and generate 15 megawatts of electricity - enough to power the equivalent of 22,000 households.

The construction process, handled by construction company Interserve, has already seen the two chimney stacks at Polmadie waste site dismantled as part of plans to upgrade the waste depot. Opened by the council in December 1958, the Polmadie facility had treated waste through a processing facility and incinerator.

GRREC details

Under Viridor’s 25-year contract with Glasgow City Council, black bag waste collected from Glasgow householders will be sorted at a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) to extract any remaining recyclable materials, while an anaerobic digester will be used to break down organic waste into energy. Any remaining waste will be heated to produce synthetic gas to power 22,000 homes and heat 8,000. (However, capturing and transporting heat produced from combined heat and power plants has been notoriously difficult in the UK, with the disruption and cost of laying the appropriate pipework often cited as an obstacle.)

It is hoped the GRREC will: extract around 18 per cent of recyclate from residual waste per year;deliver a saving to Glasgow of 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year; and a cost saving of £254 million over the course of the contract.

Delivering a 'more sustainable Glasgow'

Adrian Ringrose, Interserve Chief Executive, said: “From an environmental standpoint it’s vital that we find new ways of reducing the impact of the waste generated in our cities. This facility will make a real difference to Glasgow and the surrounding area and we are proud to be involved. It’s a major infrastructure project and we shall be enhancing its sustainability both through the integration of advanced waste-processing technologies and through the use of local businesses in the building of the facility.”

Steven Don, Scottish Regional Manager for Viridor said: “This is a significant next step in the transformational plan to establish the GRREC at Polmadie. Along with our partners, Glasgow City Council, we look forward to bringing a wealth of benefits to the city in the form of employment, investment, business support and education initiatives.”

Glasgow City Council leader, Councillor Gordon Matheson, added: “This is a hugely innovative project and an important step in the journey to deliver a more sustainable Glasgow.

“This partnership will not only produce enough energy to power more than 20,000 homes, but will create skilled jobs and support apprenticeships that are vital to the city’s economy.

“It is our opportunity to secure a future that is cleaner, more affordable and sees the city’s waste work for the benefit of its people.”

Work on the GRREC is due to be completed in 2016.

Scottish Resource Sector Commitment

Viridor has also recently joined the Scottish Government’s Resource Sector Commitment, aimed at ‘driving best practice in business waste collections’ and helping to deliver the country’s zero waste targets.

Signing the Scottish Resource Sector Commitment, Viridor has agreed to:

• focus on offering ‘high quality recycling services’;
• offer advice on preventing waste and using resources efficiently;
• provide user-friendly contracts and charging structures; and
• enable customers to give feedback.

Viridor’s Scottish Regional Director, Colin Paterson said: “At Viridor we sift, sort and segregate waste to transform it into valuable commodities; whether that's quality materials that can be recycled into new products, or energy to power Scotland's economy.

"Our £100 million Scottish network of recycling-led waste infrastructure is today helping customers meet the zero waste challenge and our current £450 million investment in next generation technology will transform that policy into practice.

"Focused on supporting Scotland: from councils and corporates to corner shops, we're delighted to back Zero Waste Scotland's Resource Sector Commitment, working together to get waste sorted.”

Iain Gulland, Director, Zero Waste Scotland added: “I’m delighted to see Viridor signing up to this commitment. The new Waste (Scotland) Regulations which come into play next year are driving a change in the way Scotland manages its resources, and this commitment will play an important part in working towards that change.”

The commitment, developed by Zero Waste Scotland in collaboration with the resource management industry and small business representatives, is backed by several trade bodies including the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM), the Scottish Environmental Services Association (SESA), Community Resources Network Scotland (CRNS), and the Resource Association.

Read more about the Scottish Resource Sector Commitment.