Recycled glass boost

A SHETLAND recycling project hopes to increase its capacity by 500 per cent thanks to two £70,000 grants from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and LEADER.

Enviroglass, operated by Shetland Amenity Trust, is the only glass recycling service in the isles and currently processes up to 600 tonnes of glass per year.

The business has developed a range of high quality products with valuable sales coming from recycled ‘glasscrete’ precast products.

By using new implosion technologies and installing a semi-automated production line, the project will increase the efficiency of both aggregate and precast production.

The company’s Sita Goudie said: “Enviroglass provides a local solution for Shetland’s waste glass, generates jobs within the isles, and removes the financial and carbon costs of shipping our waste to the mainland for recycling.

HIE’s Mhari Pottinger added: “Shetland Amenity Trust is committed to looking at ways to increase their level of traded activity through their numerous assets and in the long term this project could result in a 500 per cent increase in production capacity and a 60 per cent reduction in unit costs for this part of their operations.”

Enviroglass’s 80 per cent recycled glasscast products have been used extensively in a range of building and landscape design projects, from garden paths to large scale public spaces and buildings.