Glass recycling facility up for sale

IT IS the end of the road for local glass recycling after Shetland Amenity Trust put the large shed that used to house the award-winning Enviroglass business on the market.

Work at the site in the Cunningsburgh Industrial Estate came to a halt last year after the lease to operator Shetland Precast and Groundworks Ltd was discontinued.

The facility made glass into items like precast and paving, but that turned out to be no longer viable.

It used to be operated by the trust itself under the Enviroglass name and it had won several environmental awards over the years.

The amenity trust has now put the shed and associated industrial buildings up for sale for offers over £120,000. All machinery and plant are available by separate negotiation.

Amenity trust general manager Mat Roberts said: “We had a vacant position on that property; we have not found another person who wants to take on the Enviroglass product.

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“We have no use for that building and therefore it is for sale. It means the end of glass being recycled into concrete products in Shetland.”

All glass collected at the council-operated bottle banks is now being sent south for recycling with the council receiving around £20 per tonne for the material.

Roberts added that the trust was in discussions with Shetland Islands Council to find a solution as how the big pile of glass on the Cunningsburgh premises can be removed and used for other purposes.

“We still own the glass and the ground it sits on until we find a new use for it,” Roberts said.

“There are several dozen lorry loads of glass there and it will be expensive to move – and we are in discussions with the council to see if it can be used as a replacement for quarried stone in non-engineering situations, such as drainage fill-in. I expect this to be sold over time.”