£60million plant unveiled

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Stephen Christie
Aberdeen Press and Journal
June 4, 2011

Final plans for a waste treatment plant in Buchan at the centre of a fresh incinerator row will come under public scrutiny.

Sita UK, which last year won the lucrative contract to dispose of all Aberdeenshire's household rubbish, hopes to create a "resource-recovery park" at Stoneyhill, near Peterhead.

The French company says the £60million gasification plant - which was revealed to the public for the first time in March - will reduce the amount of waste dumped as landfill in Aberdeenshire by 70%.

Sita faces opposition from the same campaign group that successfully blocked plans for a separate incinerator scheme at Peterhead, however.

The £50million waste-to-energy plant at the town's Upperton industrial estate was rejected by councillors after campaigners produced a petition carrying nearly 6,000 signatures - about a third of the town's population.

Lead protester John Askey says there are concerns about potential toxic emissions from the 140ft chimney included in the blueprint by Sita.

"Sita will say that the facility will comply with regulations, but that is still no guarantee that it will be safe," he said.

Bosses at the French firm said the response from the majority of locals who attended consultation events earlier this year was positive, however.

At those meetings the public was shown four possible designs for the proposed plant.

An "agricultural design", which intends to mirror the look of surrounding farm land, has now been chosen as the design.

Sita said it was "consistent with the rural nature of the area".

Last night Martin Cracknell, development manager for Sita UK in Scotland, added: "Aberdeenshire residents produce about 150,000 tonnes of domestic waste a year.

"Of this, about 50 tonnes is recycled or reused, leaving around 100,000 tonnes going to Stoneyhill landfill.

"This is not sustainable and Aberdeenshire needs to develop a new way to manage its waste if it is to meet government targets and reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill to avoid expensive taxes and potential fines."

Sita says the new waste treatment plant will lead to as many as 200 construction jobs and about 40 permanent posts being created once it is completed.

People can view the final designs for the proposal at the Red House Hotel, Cruden Bay, on Tuesday, June 14, from 2pm-7pm then again at Longhaven Hall, Longhaven the following day from 2pm-8pm.

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