Peterhead's new Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) has officially opened its doors.

The significantly larger facility occupies more than 6,100 square metres on Damhead Road, compared to around 1,300 metres at the old site.

It is situated just around the corner from the old centre, also at the town's Dales Industrial Estate.

The new facility, which was opened on Wednesday, January 21, will allow an increase in the amount of waste handled from 6,000 tonnes to 7,400 tonnes per year.

This will help Aberdeenshire Council improve its recycling service and meet strict targets set out by the Scottish Government.

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Aberdeenshire Council is confident the much increased space, better signage, layout and traffic flow will make recycling more convenient for local residents.

Chairman of the council's Infrastructure Services Committee, Peter Argyle, said: "I am confident that people in and around the town will find this a convenient and well-designed facility, with staff on hand to give assistance when needed.

"Aberdeenshire is meeting its recycling targets and facilities such as this will help our drive to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill."

The introduction of two full-time attendants aims to encourage more recycling and will allow greater assistance for people with disabilities and those bringing heavy or awkward loads to the site.

The new centre also has waste compaction facilities and larger capacity for the general storage and handling of waste and recycling, reducing lorry journeys and their associated carbon footprint.

Wood and timber have been added to an already extensive list of materials which can be recycled at the new site.

Electrical recycling facilities are also available, including the recycling of fluorescent tubes.

(GK/JM)