FCC Environment, through its subsidiary FCC Environment UK, has been awarded the Zero Waste: Edinburgh and Midlothian contract under which the company will manage and process up to 155,000 tons per year of residual waste from the City of Edinburgh Council and Midlothian Council. The contract represents a backlog of approximately 511 million euro (£450 million). Funds invested ascend to 161 million euro (£142.1 million), financed by the provision of equity by FCC and external off balance sheet debt.

FCC will design, finance, build and operate a new recycling and energy-from-waste plant in Millerhill (Midlothian), on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The contract provides for a 30-month construction period ending in the Spring of 2019, after which the facility will be operated for 25 years.

These installations will process close to 135,000 tons of waste from Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and from the neighbouring Midlothian Council, together with an additional 20,000 tons per year of commercial and industrial waste. Generating energy from the waste will produce sufficient electricity to power close to 27,000 homes, and the facility has also the potential for feeding the local district heating grid. The waste will first be processed to recover and separate ferrous metals, primarily iron, and non-ferrous metals, such as aluminium and copper.

The plant will create up to 40 jobs once it comes into operation, and is expected to employ between 300 and 350 people during construction.

After signing the contract with the Edinburgh and Midlothian authorities, FCC Environment UK CEO, Paul Taylor, stated that "the Millerhill recycling and energy recovery facility will play a decisive role in increasing the rate of recycling and reducing the amount of waste from Edinburgh and Midlothian that is disposed of in landfills; it also represents a major boost for the Scottish Government's Zero Waste plan."

Carlos Afonso, director of Corporate Development and Concessions at FCC Environment International, said that, "the project is another example of the wide range of development strategies through which FCC can deliver capital-intensive facilities that benefit the local communities."

Antonio Alfonso, managing director, head of FCC Environment International, alleged that “the Edinburgh and Midlothian contract represents another step in FCC's growth as a global partner to municipalities and authorities wishing to address environmental challenges and achieve the European Circular Economy goals. It also expands our presence in the United Kingdom, where we have been delivering services since 1989, and proves our ability to provide effective energy-from-waste solutions under a public-private partnership approach."

The contract further enhances FCC's international footprint, as it provides environmental services in cities and towns throughout the world. The Group currently operates energy-from-waste facilities in a number of counties in the United Kingdom (Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Kent, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire - the latter under construction -) as well as Austria and Spain.

From the left to the right: up right: Vicente Orts, CFO FCC Environment UK; David Lyon, head of Environment at Edimburgh City Council; Carlos Afonso, Corporate Development and Concessions director in FCC International Environment; Tomás Núñez, deputy director of International Environment division; Up down: Paul Taylor, CEO FCC Environment UK; John Blair, from Edimburgh City Council.