Construction waste recycling firm opens new Cumbernauld plant amid circular economy drive

Move will also help transform land at the derelict Gartshore Works site.

Brewster Brothers’ wash plants transform 100% of the excavated soils and rubble they process from the construction industry into high-value aggregates for reuse

A Scottish recycling business that has already processed more than a million tonnes of construction waste has opened a second plant following a multi-million pound investment.

Brewster Brothers’ wash plants transform 100 per cent of the excavated soils and rubble they process from the construction industry into high-value aggregates for reuse. Over the past six years, the firm’s site near Livingston, West Lothian has prevented almost 1.35 million tonnes of construction, demolition and excavation waste going to landfill. It has created more than one million tonnes of recycled aggregates to sell into the industry.

As part of a £6 million-plus expansion of the business, Brewster has now opened its second recycling site, regenerating the old Gartshore Works near Cumbernauld. The new plant will serve construction sites, housing and utilities developments in the western part of the Central Belt. The plant near Livingston, which currently employs 39 people, will continue to provide sustainable waste management services and recycled aggregates to businesses in Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians.

Scott Brewster, managing director, who set up the business in 2017 alongside his father, Alex, said: “It’s increasingly clear that the construction sector in Scotland appreciates the need to reduce the amount of natural resources that the industry uses and the amount of carbon it emits while increasing use of recycled and secondary materials. The volume of construction, demolition and excavation waste that’s been recycled over the last six years has grown enormously, and our investment into this second site demonstrates that there’s room for a further expansion in this area.

“Scotland has big ambitions for transitioning to a circular economy, and the government plans to bring in a new devolved aggregates tax that should accelerate the shift away from the use of virgin products.”

As part of the firm’s redevelopment of the derelict Gartshore Works site it has recruited new members of staff supported by Scottish Enterprise’s Green Jobs Fund. The firm will also recycle the old bing of colliery waste on the site, and the area will be turned into a country park for the local community.