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Viridor
And Viridor isn ’ t the only business struggling with this , companies across the UK are in a similar position . “ Half of all the recycling sent out by Brits is exported . Each time we export plastic recycling not only do we reduce the traceability of that material , because it ’ s easier to trace when it ’ s within the country , but we also export jobs and investment with it as well . For us , that ’ s a massive challenge because the circular economy cannot be sustained when the product can no longer be traced .”
With this obstacle in mind , Viridor has joined forces with Equitix to build a new Scottish energy recovery facility , to help bring the nation closer to ending landfill . “ The project at Westfield is going to process over 200,000 tons of waste in Fife , Scotland . It will be our third waste energy recovery facility . We have one in Dunbar , and we are also actively looking at that site as to whether we can put carbon capture onto it because it ’ s also next to the Scottish Cluster . We need to minimize the amount of waste that we ’ re generating across the UK , but if we send waste to landfill , then not only does it emit pollutants , but it also emits methane , which is a highly potent greenhouse gas . So , by taking waste away from landfill , we reduce the emissions per ton by about 40 percent compared to landfill , and we ’ re looking to achieve that with further investments .”
Solving problems
Tim explains Viridor is also working to ensure that all materials that it extracts , including residues , are recycled . “ At the Dunbar facility , waste is recycled and turned into new materials . We have this philosophy of building a world
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