Bosses at one of Scotland’s biggest waste management firms are seeking residents’ feedback about plans for a £70m incinerator.
Binn Group has returned to Perth and Kinross Council with new plans for an energy from waste (EfW) plant, with 41% more capacity than its previously-lodged proposals.
EfW incinerators produce power by burning non-recyclable waste and are being increasingly used around Europe.
Previous plans for smaller incinerators were approved in 2007 and 2011 and the firm still has permission to press ahead with those designs if it wishes.
However, management hope their ambitious bid will allow them to further expand the project.
The fresh plans seek to increase the plant capacity from 60,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste to 84,900 tonnes each year.
The firm states this would still be one of the smallest commercial EfW plants in the UK and the smallest on mainland Scotland.
It is expected the development will bring 30 full time jobs, as well as 200 jobs during its construction.
Energy produced from the incinerator could reach levels capable of powering 14,500 homes.
Analysts at the waste management firm suggest the upgraded project could generate £12.6 million for Scotland and £2.8 million locally.
The firm began their consultation period for the major development on Thursday evening with and online webinar.
Binn’s John Ferguson said: “We answered a broad range of questions over the course of around an hour.
“The consultation period closes on 5pm on 31st July. We’d still like to hear from members of the community.”
Anyone wishing to participate in the consultation can contact Binn Group via telephone, email or post.
Bosses say most of the information delivered last week was identical to that published at a prior event held at Dunbarney Church in Bridge of Earn in January.
The previous discussion, which had raised some neighbours’ worries about the number of vehicles coming to and from the Glenfarg site, was a voluntary event put on by the firm, but fresh feedback received before the end of the month will go towards the mandatory consultation.
Management stressed that even when running at maximum capacity, they would still have significantly fewer trucks coming in and out the farm than when they stopped sending waste to landfill in 2006.
Binn Group currently ship non-recyclable waste to mainland Europe, but say this isn’t sustainable.
