New recycling centre for Elgin
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Moray Council is looking to build a new household waste recycling centre for Elgin focusing on reusing and upcycling goods.
A total of £800,000 has been agreed to buy an unspecified piece of land close to the town.
Council officers are now preparing an application to the Scottish Government Recycling Improvement Fund for additional costs other than the purchase.
The aim is to replace the waste recycling centre on Chanonry Road because it is too cramped, which leaves users having to book slots online so staff can manage traffic safely.
A third sector organisation will be sought to operate the new site at which people will be able to drop off furniture, household goods and other items that can be sold on.
A similar operation is run by social enterprise Waste Busters in Forres.
Stephen Cooper, the council's head of environmental and commercial services, said: "We have a very constrained site in Elgin and we’ve been looking for a new site for some time.
"We had to come up with something innovative, so the concept is a waste hierarchy approach.
"As you enter the new site you would drop off all your waste that could potentially be reused or upcycled, and we’d get the third sector to operate that section of it.
"You would then move into an area where you would recycle, then finally you would end up with waste that couldn’t be reused or recycled for disposal."
Graham Leadbitter, the council's leader, welcomed the proposal during a meeting of the economic development and infrastructure committee yesterday.
Cllr Leadbitter (Elgin South, SNP) said: "We have a number of excellent social enterprises that operate in Moray. Some of them would lend themselves really well to being able to operate in tandem with the council on a site of that type.
"I’m personally quite excited by this, as I can see the way the site operates in Forres is exceptionally good and really lends itself for the reuse of objects.
"If we can get that for our largest body of waste that would really help."
The submission for funding is expected to be made in June.
If successful, design work will start later this year.
