Moray signs up to energy-from-waste initiative

Moray councillors have taken an important step towards joining two other north-east authorities in building a facility which will produce energy from household waste.

They agreed to approve the terms of what will be the first stage of an agreement with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council to develop the plant.

New regulations will place a ban on organic waste going to landfill after 2020, leaving Moray with no option but to find an alternative to sending its non-recycleable waste to the council’s landfill site at Nether Dallachy.

Councillors were told that all three north-east councils had concluded that their interests would best be served by collaborating on a joint energy-from-waste facility in Aberdeen.

At this stage the indicative costs to build the plant are £180million, of which Moray’s share would be £25million.

That would cost the council £1.8million a year in loan charges for 25 years.

However, that is less than the £2.25million the council currently sets aside annually for landfill tax.

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 92,500 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live.

Headquartered in  Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.