SCOTLAND’S LARGEST ORGANIC WASTE MANAGEMENT FIRM HAS ANNOUNCED PLANS TO EXPAND INTO THE NORTH-EAST, CREATING UP TO 40 NEW JOBS TO THE REGION.
Keenan Recycling says it will create a greener future for businesses and residents in the region, with the new jobs over the next two years including roles in sales, account management and fleet drivers.
With its roots originally in the garden composting business since 2001, Keenan Recycling launched its own commercial food waste collection service in Scotland in 2010.
The company now processes more than 150,000 tonnes of organic waste a year, turning it into compost and electricity.
Bringing its food waste collection service to the region, the firm will work with local businesses and other waste management firms in the region to collect food waste.
This will then be taken to High Hedley Biogas Plant in County Durham, where it will be put through an anaerobic digester and turned into electricity.
As well as making businesses more aware about the cost of wasting food, the process has environmental benefits, by preventing waste going to landfill and cutting back on harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Food waste is currently high on the list of current concerns for producers, farmers and supermarkets. This year, the use of food banks in the UK reached the highest rate on record meaning it couldn’t be any more important to consider the impact of unnecessarily wasting food.
By monitoring food disposal, businesses can ensure that edible waste isn’t thrown away and anything inedible can be recycled via Keenan and used to create green energy.
Keenan Recycling managing director Grant Keenan, said that it was a natural geographical progression to move into the region, as the company already operates in the borders of Scotland.
He said:
“We’re very excited to bring our food waste management service to the North-East and we’re looking forward to working with businesses across the region who are conscious about creating a greener environment.
Although it is a legal requirement in Scotland, recycling food waste in England is a concept that many will not be familiar with, but we hope that we can encourage individuals to really think about the food they throw away, rather than going to landfill.”
Headquartered in Aberdeen, Keenan Recycling currently employs more than 90 people across a range of roles in the head office and bases in Edinburgh and Fife, as well as across the company’s two large recycling facilities, a 14-acre site in New Deer, Aberdeenshire and a site in Cumbernauld.
The firm currently has an £8.5 million turnover, which it aims to grow up to £40 million in the next five years.
