A BUNGLING Scots council has squandered £2.5m on a failed waste disposal project.
Scottish Borders Council had announced plans for a £23m food thermal treatment facility at Easter Langlee.
It was hoped that £80m over 24 years could be made creating electricity from heating food waste from local households.
But the scheme has been scrapped because the technology is not proven on a commercial scale as well as the success of household recycling.
The local authority is now faced with a £2.4m bill to pay for legal and financial advisers as well as managers for the failed project.
The council signed the contract just four years ago with New Earth Solutions, a specialist waste disposal company based in Bristol.
Asked about the cost of the project a spokesman for the council said: “The figure is £2.4m to date, of which £400,000 has been invested in Easter Langlee to improve the asset value to the council.
“The remaining £2m covers project-related expenditure, including technical, legal and financial advisers, and project managers.
“We anticipate the £2m will be written off as an accounting adjustment. However, there will be a reduction in the capital assets held by the council and there will be further costs in closing the project down.”
He added: “Since the contract was signed in April 2011 there have been significant changes with regard to Scottish waste policy and regulation, and project-specific issues in terms of technology and funding.”
