Press release - 29 May 2012

The council’s Buchan Area Committee has given approval for landfilling at the facility to continue for an additional 12 years, from 2012 to 2024, to complete the originally approved scheme.

At current input rates, it will take this long for the existing permitted void to be filled and the approved final restoration levels to be reached.

The total amount of waste deposited at the site will not increase and there are no other changes to the existing permitted scheme.

Increases to the rate of recycling and recovery of waste have resulted in falling levels of materials requiring landfill across Scotland.

The new permission means the total amount of waste deposited at the site will stay unchanged, but the site can continue to accept waste over a longer period of time, ensuring that the void is filled and the land restored to the agreed contours.

Annemarie Wilshaw, Planning Manager for SITA UK, said: "We thank those people who attended the two exhibitions we hosted about the landfill plans in June last year, and those people who have given us their comments.

"We are working on proposals for a treatment facility to maximise recycling and recovery at Stoneyhill, but landfill still has an important role to play in managing waste as recycling rates increase and alternative sustainable facilities are introduced in Scotland.

"Amending the end date of this site will mean the permitted space will be filled as planned and Stoneyhill landfill will continue to take non-recycled waste from the residents of Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City and surrounding areas."

The plan is in line with the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Plan, which still envisages a role for landfill for waste that cannot be recycled or treated.

For information about the Stoneyhill plans, go to www.sita.co.uk/your-environment/our-plans/stoneyhill. To find out more about waste management technologies, go to SEPA’s website at www.sepa.org.uk