Dried out waste from street cleaning will help cut landfill costs for the West Lothian Council and help pay for new maintenance facilities.
The authority is building equipment to retrieve water from the detritus collected keeping the county’s streets clean
It cuts the bill the council pays for landfill and puts cleaner water back into the conventional drainage system.
The saving made in the next year- around £130,000 – will help finance new vehicle washing facilities at the council’s Whitehill depot in Bathgate. That will save on the contracting out costs the council currently pays to have its HGVs and bin lorries deep cleaned every six weeks.
The proposals went before councillors at a special meeting of the Environment and Sustainability PDSP ahead of the budget meeting in two weeks’ time.
David Maule, Head of Operational Services answered a question from Linlithgow’s Lib Dem councillor Sally Pattle.
He told the meeting that gully cleaning machines and mini road sweepers collect a high-water content along with the detritus swept up. The council pays for waste disposal by the tonne. The new equipment will extract the water content and filter it so it can be returned to normal drainage. The weight of waste sent for landfill is also reduced.
Mr Maule said: “It’s a sustainable measure. We are sending less tonnage to landfill and returning cleanish water to drainage.”
A report to the committee said: “The proposal will have no impact on the front-line performance of road and street sweeping and cleansing. The new facility will allow the council to segregate wastewater to be treated and returned to waste water drainage systems, thus reducing the volume of landfill waste that the council pays for. In addition, savings will be made by providing a new in-house vehicle wash facility, which will cost less to operate than using a private contractor.”
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
