A Scottish company which recycles hundreds of thousands of tonnes of construction waste each year is opening a second site, near Cumbernauld.

Brewster Brothers has signed a lease to redevelop the derelict Gartshore brickworks near Cumbernauld, and the regenerated site is already open for the tipping of soil and rubble and is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, with an uplift of 22 new members of staff supported by the Green Jobs Fund.

Its existing Livingston plant, which currently employs 39 people, will continue to provide “environmentally conscious waste management services and quality recycled aggregates” to businesses in Edinburgh and the Lothians, Brewster Brothers said.

The company said: “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, helping to promote biodiversity as well as provide new recreational spaces.”

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Brewster Brothers noted it had, over the past five years, 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.

It said of its Gartshore expansion: “Due to that success at its Livingston site and as part of a £7m expansion programme, the company is investing £6m in a second state-of-the-art 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.”

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The company added: “The expansion of Brewster Brothers reflects the growing recognition within the construction industry of the need to meet sustainability targets and adopt circular business models.

"The industry generates 50% of Scotland’s waste, while is responsible for 40% of Scotland’s carbon emissions and 50% of Scotland’s natural resource consumption. Recycling CDE waste through Brewster Brothers’ wash plant recovers 100% of the soil, sand, gravel, and stone, which are reprocessed into high-value products for reuse.”

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Scott Brewster, managing director of Brewster Brothers, set up the company’s sustainable resource management business in 2017 with recycling and reuse of aggregates its sole purpose.

He 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.”