Official opening for new Weymouth recycling depot   (posted 31/07/2009)

A new recycling depot which will handle thousands of tonnes of green and wood waste has been officially declared open in Weymouth.

Councillor Hilary Cox, Dorset County Council’s cabinet member for the environment, cut a ribbon marking the official start of operations.

The depot, off Preston Beach Road, cost more than a quarter of a million pounds and has been built by Eco Sustainable Solutions in partnership with Weymouth & Portland Borough Council and Dorset County Council.

Up to 16,000 tonnes of green and wood waste from trade and constructors as well as local authorities will be handled annually at the state-of-the-art facility. The material will be recycled into premium products for resale.

It will accept waste for recycling from both local authorities under Eco’s eight-year contract with Dorset County Council which was announced last year.

Cllr Cox said the new facility will play an important role in helping Dorset achieve a 60 per cent recycling rate. “I’m delighted to see it in action. We need more like it,” she said.

Guests at the official opening included Steve Burdis, Dorset County Council’s Head of Waste Management, and David Bowyer, Weymouth & Portland Council’s Waste and Recycling Manager.

The depot, which will also sell Eco’s products including compost, mulch, turf, soil and woodchip, is open six days a week from 7,30am to 5pm (7.30am to midday on Saturdays).

Trelawney Dampney, Eco’s Managing Director, said: “This is an excellent example of the private and public sectors working together to produce a sustainable solution for Dorset’s waste.”

ENDS

Picture caption: Cutting the ribbon: Cllr Hilary Cox declares the new recycling depot open watched by (left to right) David Bowyer of Weymouth & Portland Council; Trelawney Dampney, Rachel Cahill and Steve Harman of Eco and Dorset County Council’s Steve Burdis.

Editor’s Note: Founded in 1994, Eco annually processes 150,000 tonnes of material on its 14-acre site at Parley, Dorset. End products include turf, enriched topsoil, compost and woodchip. The company, which employs 32 staff, was named KPMG Company of the Year in the 2008 Dorset Business Awards.

For more information please contact: Trelawney Dampney, Managing Director, Eco Sustainable Solutions, on 01202 593601 or Andrew Diprose, PR Account Director, Deep South Media on 01202 534487.