A JAMESTOWN landfill could be set to get another 15 years of life - thanks to increased levels of recycling.

The Auchencarroch landfill is nearing the end of its original 25-year lifespan, but owners Barr Environmental Ltd said it could now stretch to 2037 before all corners are filled.

A detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been filed with the planning application to extend the life of the 43.2 hectares site, but not its size.

The site, to the east of Alexandria off Auchencarroch Road, takes household, commercial and industrial waste. For the past four years, there has been a “materials recovery facility” at the site.

Each “cell” in the landfill is capped after it’s filled and then restored.

As residents recycle more, it has slowed the rate of filling the dump. There will also be a ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills from 2025. Auchencarroch’s developers calculate they can now extend the life of the site until 2037 instead of 2022.

In 2008, it was estimated there would be a maximum of 225,000 tonnes of waste a year. In the last few years, the average has been 197,000 tonnes.

In practical terms, that still equates to between 25 and 48 HGVs of rubbish a day filling the site.

The EIA states: “For the avoidance of doubt The total landfill volume will not change, just the time period over which the operation will take place.”

The nearest homes are 1.5km away and the EIA said there have been “very few complaints” about the site to date.

Other aspects of the report found there would be only “minor” effects on the water environment and the effects of dust, fine particulate matter and odour would be “not significant”.

The “worst-case scenario” said there would potentially 436,000 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of waste being produced from the proposed extension, said the assessment. But the report authors concluded that the need for the landfill meant they did not consider alternative disposals of the waste.

Kilmaronock Community Council discussed the proposals last week but acknowledged a landfill is a “necessary evil” and the plans seemed to be valid ones. They intend to invite the site’s owners to a future meeting to learn more about the facility.

Ross Greer, West of Scotland Green MSP, commented: “The fact we’re still sending so much waste to landfill is the result of many years of government and big business just burying their heads in the sand. The blame here isn’t on ordinary people, particularly when just last year the Scottish Government delayed a ban on sending biodegradable waste to landfill by five years.”

The applications can be found on West Dunbartonshire Council’s planning website under DC07/233/FUL and DC20/253.