Cement firm wants to 'burn rubber'

The plant is outside Dunbar in East Lothian

The operators of Scotland's only cement works want to burn old car tyres in a bid to reduce energy costs.

Blue Circle Industries, which operates outside Dunbar in East Lothian, says the process would also reduce the plant's impact on the surrounding environment.

The firm is set to submit an application to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) in a bid to get approval for the process.

Blue Circle says it has conducted a successful trial with emission tests and kept local people informed about the process.

The firm wants to burn disused car tyres

The East Lothian firm wants to add scrap tyres, cut into chips, to the traditional mixture of coal and liquid fuel which it uses in concrete production.

In the application to Sepa, the plant's management said the process is more energy efficient, cheaper and less harmful to the environment.

Management also argue that it will help to tackle the UK's growing problem with disused car tyres.

If approval is granted up to four tonnes of rubber will be burned at the plant every hour.

It is estimated that 40m tonnes of tyres are scrapped in the UK every year. They are either disposed of in landfill sites or dumped illegally.

Blue Circle says it will send a newsletter to local people and has promised to keep them informed about developments.

The company currently produces around 1m tonnes of cement each year.