Integrated waste facility proposals update

The focus of investment in future waste treatment should be on recovering as many recyclable materials as possible, Councillors heard today.

Members of the Council’s Development and Infrastructure Committee were reviewing treatment options and a proposed site for a new waste facility for Orkney, to help the county meet ambitious recycling targets and legislation.

They heard the county’s current waste transfer facility at Chinglebraes was not able to accommodate expected future needs.

Councillors also heard that the feasibility of an ‘Energy From Waste’ plant had been explored but had been found to be not viable for Orkney.

Instead, investment should be focused on providing additional sorting facilities – enabling the collection of mixed streams of recyclates – plus technology to extract valuable metals from residual, or ‘black bag’ waste before shredding and baling it, ready to be sent away for incineration at a plant such as the Energy Recovery Plant in Shetland. The new facility should also include a means of composting organic and food waste.

To do this, it was recommended the Council continue to progress its proposal to build a new waste transfer facility at Hatston, at the site of the former abattoir.

Early proposals are that this new waste transfer facility – a special purpose facility which prepares waste and recycling for onwards processing – would also include a ‘supersized’ household waste and recycling centre (HWRC) replacing the current facility and allowing additional material streams to be collected – for example, wood which is not currently collected separately by the Council.

Following the meeting, Strategic Policy and Projects Manager for the Council, Lorna Richardson, explained the rationale for the proposals:

“The idea of our own ‘energy from waste’ plan here in Orkney is at face value an attractive one. However the county does not have the volumes of throughput of waste needed to make that option economically or technically viable – and this is in part demonstrated by the fact that the plant in Shetland, a similar sized community, relies on bringing in waste – including Orkney’s.

“It’s crucial too that we start to view waste as the valuable resource that it is, and that means investing in ways to recover a wider range of recyclates.

“Our waste transfer facility at Chinglebraes just does not have the space to allow us to move in this direction, with limited footprint to have more segregation of waste and recyclables, hence the proposal to move to the larger site at Hatston – with the added benefit that Hatston is handier to onward transport routes to Shetland for our waste.

“It’s crucial that we develop a sustainable solution too for organic waste – food waste is a huge issue for local authorities everywhere. It is high in moisture content and so really quite heavy, meaning that it is expensive to transport and we really are better investing in ways to deal with it here than transport it to Shetland.”

The committee also heard upcoming legislation including Extended Producer Responsibility is expected to enable recovery of the costs of collecting and reprocessing of packaging from manufacturers – opening up the potential for an increased range of plastics to be cost-effectively collected by the Council across Orkney.

The committee recommended that the proposal to progress development of new waste management facilities for Orkney be reaffirmed, based on the following key capabilities:

• In Vessel Composter (IVC) for organic (food and garden) waste – IVC systems ensure that composting takes place in an enclosed environment, with accurate temperature control and monitoring.
• Mechanical pre-treatment (shredding) for residual waste.
• Sorting facility for mixed dry recyclable materials.

Chair of the Development and Infrastructure Committee, Graham Sinclair, said: “What we agreed today will help officers progress with more detailed plans and funding applications, to ensure Orkney is ready and resourced to meet the challenges of the future waste and recycling landscape.”

The committee also recommended to the Asset Management Sub-committee that the site of the former Abattoir/Cull Hall at Hatston, incorporating the existing Household Waste Recycling Centre and associated infrastructure, be adopted as the preferred site for the proposed new waste management facilities.

The next stage is for the Service to submit a Stage 2 Capital Project Appraisal to the Policy and Resources Committee, to confirm funding for the facility. Should this be successful work will begin to appoint a contractor to develop the detailed design and construct the facility.

Frequently asked questions:

Will the new facility make gathering plastics from the isles more feasible?

The proposal includes installing facilities to receive and process mixed dry recyclates. Forthcoming legislation, for example the Extended Producer Responsibility legislation, is likely to mandate that producers cover the costs of collecting and processing packing materials which could make it economically viable for Orkney to collect plastic packaging from anywhere in Orkney and then send it to the reprocessing plant. The new facility and changes in legislation combined may result in the Council being able to receive limited types of plastics mixed in with other recyclates on the outer isles at specific collection points. Expansion of the waste facility on the Mainland will be an important component in making sure that we are able to fully exploit the opportunities associated with this legislation.

How much waste does Orkney ship to Shetland and how much does it cost us?

The cost is circa £190 per tonne and includes processing on island and shipping costs to Shetland. In 2020/21, 8451 tonnes was sent to Shetland. This is around 1500 tonnes less than normal and is assumed to be at least partly due to a drop in commercial activity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Will the community be consulted?

There will be statutory consultation as part of the planning process and we’ll be engaging with the community and key local charity and action/interest groups at the appropriate time.

What is Orkney’s recycling rates, what are the targets, and how can the new facility help improve recycling rates?

The latest official government figures (2019) for household waste recycling rates show that in Orkney the rate is 18.8%, compared to a Scottish average of 44.9%.
The Scottish Government target is for 70% of all household waste to be recycled by 2025. Significant interventions are required to allow Orkney to aim for this target, enabling a wider range of materials to be collected and processed separately ie ability to separate and sort additional and ‘co-mingled’ material streams. For example, while garden waste is currently treated separately, it is not to the standard required and so does not currently count towards the recycling target. It’s estimated based on past garden waste volumes that a new facility capable of meeting the standard required for garden waste would help boost Orkney’s recycling rate by 11%.

How much will this cost?

Thee full costs of developing the Integrated Waste Facility, incorporating site clearance, buildings and infrastructure, in addition to around £2.5m for the technology, are estimated at a total capital cost of £17 million. These costs were estimated in early 2021 and may need to be adjusted upwards to reflect the impacts of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic which have led to significant increases in construction costs over the past few months. Support to cover some of the expected capital costs is being sought from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund, a £70 million fund designed to support transformative projects aimed at substantially improving Scotland’s recycling rate through the improvement of services and treatment infrastructure. Funding is being sought for the full amount of in-scope costs, which represents approximately £12 million of the overall costs.