As the Council works towards meeting Zero Waste targets, the new facility will receive all recyclables and waste collected from households, and will enable sorting of quality materials to be reused and recycled, diverting as much as possible away from landfill sites, which costs the Council £2 million every year.
Councillor Jim Thomson, the Council's Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: "This project represents a substantial investment by the Council in the future delivery of recycling and waste management services.
"It is welcoming that local company Ogilvie Construction has won the contract as this will support local jobs and bring economic benefits to our area. The new centre will provide the essential infrastructure to enable the Council to further increase the recycling and minimisation of waste which will save money, provide best value and deliver environmental benefits for local people."
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Phil McEwan, Managing Director of Ogilvie Construction, who attended a sod-cutting ceremony to mark work starting on site, said: "As a Stirling-based company, we're delighted to be working with Stirling Council to deliver this new facility. This multi-million pound contract is one of a series of new business wins in the past few weeks, securing employment for local people. It's great to see work starting on site and I look forward to the new facility being completed."
He added: "Things have been tough for construction firms - including ourselves - but we're confident that we offer the right mix of pricing and quality to win major contracts like this.
"As a local business, we enjoy a good relationship with Stirling and neighbouring councils and pitch competitively to win tenders. We also benefit from our strategic location in Stirling, at the very heart of Scotland. This is helping us win not just local work but projects much further a field."
Stirling Council has already made significant progress in working towards mandatory national recycling targets and currently, recycles and composts over 48% of all waste collected, one of the best rates in Scotland. Much more however still requires to be done to meet the future target of 70% by 2025 with associated landfill bans of recyclable items and food waste.
Ensuring a sustainable approach to the construction and future environmentally -friendly operation of the new facility has remained at the heart of the project. By utilising significant volumes of recycled material in addition to establishing a mix of renewable heat and power technologies, this will contribute to reducing the overall carbon footprint of the facility.
The household waste recycling centres at Balfron, Callander and Lower Polmaise, along with the bring-bank recycling facilities in local communities, will continue to be available for use by the public, and form a key element in the drive to recycle more of our household wastes.
(GK)
