Brewster Brothers is opening a second recycling plant near Cumbernauld.
Over the past five years, the company has diverted more than one million tonnes of construction, demolition and excavation (CDE) waste from landfill and created more than 750,000 tonnes of recycled aggregates, with a carbon saving of 20,000 tonnes.
Due to that success at its Livingston site - and as part of a £7m expansion programme - the business is investing £6m in a second wash plant capable of recycling a further 300,000 tonnes of CDE waste per year for re-use in the building trade.
The new plant will serve construction sites, housing and utilities developments in the western central belt, keeping the transport impact to a minimum by implementing a local approach to its services.
Recycling CDE waste through Brewster Brothers’ wash plant should recover 100% of the soil, sand, gravel and stone, which are reprocessed into products for reuse.
Having signed a lease to redevelop the derelict Gartshore brickworks near Cumbernauld, the regenerated site is accepting soil and rubble now, with the new site to be fully operational by the end of the year, bringing an uplift of 22 new members of staff, supported by the Green Jobs Fund.
As part of Brewster Brothers commitment to the Gartshore site, the old bing of colliery waste will be recycled, and the area will be turned into a country park for the local community.
The Livingston plant, which currently employs 39, will continue to provide environmental waste management services and recycled aggregates to businesses in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
Managing director Scott Brewster, who set up the sustainable resource management business in 2017, said: “Construction is an important driver of the Scottish economy and because of that, there is a growing imperative to reduce the waste generated and improve the environmental impact of new building developments and infrastructure projects.
“With the plant we have it is possible to turn CDE waste into quality aggregates for reuse, diverting tonnes of waste from landfill and providing a valuable flow of resources when supplies are increasingly under pressure.
“By investing in a second site at Gartshore, we will be able to service 44% of the Scottish construction market, while keeping our own carbon footprint to a minimum.”
He added: “Scotland has big ambitions for transitioning to a circular economy and increasing the number of green jobs - ours is both an innovative and a pragmatic approach to working with one of the country’s biggest generators of waste to improve environmental practice and raise awareness of the sustainable options available.”
Brewster Brothers has been a family run business for almost 50 years, with Scott being the third generation involved.
Traditionally involved in farming, since 2017 it has been providing sustainable resource management, primarily to the construction industry, across central Scotland.
In the last financial year, the company recorded a £6m turnover and is forecast to exceed £7m this year.
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