Millerhill recycling centre officially opened

The Millerhill recycling and energy recovery centre (RERC) was officially opened last week, and is set to boost local zero waste targets.

Edinburgh Council and Midlothian Council developed the £142 million facility under a 25-year partnership with waste management resource company FCC Environment.

The RERC is set to help both councils meet national targets by diverting 155,000 tonnes of waste – 135,000 tonnes of household residual waste with a further 20,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste – from landfill each year. The treated waste will generate electricity to power 32,000 households and businesses across the region.

The official opening event for the site bought the partner councils, FCC Environment and other key stakeholders together last week.

Midlothian Council’s leader, Cllr Derek Milligan (Lab)said: “I am delighted to see this flagship project taking off and ready to generate green energy from waste. It is crucial to transfer household and commercial waste to advanced facilities like this rather than discarding them in landfill.

“This forward-thinking site will benefit the local area in a number of ways from protecting the beautiful local landscape to providing green energy.”

FCC Environment’s chief executive, Paul Taylor said: “We are thrilled to join our partner councils to mark the official opening of the Millerhill RERC. The facility will not only divert the large amount of waste ending up in landfill but will also generate crucial energy for local communities. This important step will benefit both councils as well as the businesses and families in the area, not to mention the environmental-friendly benefits it will deliver to Midlothian’s landscape.”

Councillor Cammy Day, Depute Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “This wonderful new facility is great news for Edinburgh – it will go a long way to help meet our Zero Waste target. The Scottish Government has a target for no more than five percent of waste being sent to landfill by 2025. Before this great new facility came on stream, Edinburgh and Midlothian councils sent about two thirds of our household waste to landfill. The capability of this new plant is astonishing. With over 150,000 tonnes of waste diverted from ending up in landfill, this will be the key aspect of being on track towards reaching the milestone Zero Waste target.”

The Millerhill RERC will be a key component in the councils’ commitment to reduce waste ending up in landfill and generate green energy, helping to reach the Scottish Government’s 2025 Zero Waste target. Construction at the brownfield site, formerly the Millerhill Marshalling Yard, began in October 2016 with the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) role delivered through a joint venture between FCC Medio Ambiente SA and Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI).

The plant has been receiving residual waste for commissioning purposes since October 2018, entering into operation in April 2019.