Fuel produced from rubbish thrown away by Fifers has been shipped to energy plants in Sweden.

It's a way to make money from waste and is being driven by Resource Efficient Solutions (RES), which is owned by Fife Council.

The eco-friendly refuse derived fuel is used to produce electricity and heat and the firm plan to export over 30,000 tonnes of it to Sweden and Denmark in the next year.

They're looking to grow even further and RES chairman, Fife councillor John Wincott, said: “The production of fuel from waste is an important part of our business strategy that is focused on reducing the amount of household waste that is landfilled, and offering landfill free waste solutions to business customers.

“Unfortunately, there is currently a lack of capacity in Scotland to make use of this fuel, which is why we are exporting to Scandinavia.

"We anticipate that eventually new facilities will be developed closer to home that reduce the need for export outwith Scotland.

"But, in the meantime, we will make full use of the opportunities on offer in Sweden and Denmark”.

However, it's not all plain sailing for the scheme and Cllr Wincott warned: “The impact of the recent market volatility, and the fall in value of the pound, could increase the costs for those parts of process that are priced in Euros or Scandinavian currencies. We’ll need to keep a close eye on that.

“There is a risk that our costs could rise as a result of the fall in the pound, which might require us to review our gate fees to customers. "We’ll be doing everything we can to prevent that."