SCOTS CAN TOAST RECYCLING SUCCESS THIS HOGMANAY - 428.5m GLASS BOTTLES & 350,000 TVs RECYCLED IN 2010

Scots can toast their own recycling success this Hogmanay.  That was the message from Viridor - Scotland’s largest recycling, renewable energy and resource efficiency company which reported a bumper year for helping communities, councils and companies recycle more of what we throw away.

The company, which operates Scotland’s most advanced network of recycling technologies, helped Scots recycle the equivalent of 428.5m glass bottles and over 350,000 televisions from across Scotland in 2010 –part of a larger effort to recycle more, diverting waste resources from landfill.

The company, which is investing £800m in ‘next generation’ recycling and waste infrastructure, recovered the 428.5 million bottles at its state of the art glass recycling depot at Bonnyrigg, Midlothian.  The specialist depot recycles glass from eighteen councils across the country in addition to serving private sector customers at locations from the Scottish borders and the central belt up to the Scottish Highlands. 

Once received, Viridor uses the latest advanced glass recycling technology to sort and separate the glass, removing impurities such as china and Pirex before crushing and blending into valuable cullet for remanufacture.  Sustainability continues, with the cullet utilised in Scotland, making a new generation of glass products, insulation for Scottish homes, or aggregate for Scottish roads.

The company also reported the recycling of over 350,000 televisions – a 60% year-on-year increase as Scots upgraded for the World Cup and as part of the digital switchover.  The TVs, along with a broad range of electrical and electronic equipment including 230,000 fridges from 96% of Scotland’s local authorities are processed at Viridor’s WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) authorised treatment facility at Friarton Bridge site in Perth where 95% of components are recycled for remanufacture.

Commenting, Martin Grey, Scottish Communications Manager for Viridor, said:

“2010 has been a bumper year for recycling in Scotland.  The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets and as Scots we’re responding well.  With over 428.5m glass bottles recycled by Viridor alone, we can all raise a glass to toast our success this Hogmanay.

“What’s more, there’s good news for those bringing in the bells watching TV.  In addition to paper, plastics, cans and bottles, recycling electronic and electrical items such as TVs, fridges, computers and small electrical items has become a real Scottish success story with Viridor recycling over 350,000 TVs from across Scotland in the last year alone.”

Commenting on the challenges for 2011, Mr. Grey added:

“Our bumper year for recycling is good news for sustainability in Scotland and marks a key milestone on the road to delivering the Scottish Government’s zero waste strategy but we’re not resting on our laurels.

“We’re already seeing an increase in the volume of recycling of ‘big ticket’ items as consumers rush to replace old items and beat the VAT increase but Zero waste won’t happen without a network of new ‘next generation’ green infrastructure on the ground.  That’s why to continue making progress Viridor is supporting the public and private sectors meet ambitious targets by investing up to £800m in Scotland in the latest advanced technologies to recycle more and recover renewable energy from what remains.

“2010 has been a great year.  Let’s toast to an even brighter future.”