IPODEC Ireland is one of the largest waste management/recycling companies operating in the Republic. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivendi (formerly Compagnie Generale des Eaux) and, combined with CGEA Ireland Ltd, currently employs around 120 people with a turnover in excess of £18 million.

In particular, IPODEC organises the provision of equipment and services for industrial and commercial waste management for solid and liquid waste services, while CGEA is involved in (amongst other things) preparing technical specification for the treatment and processing of waste materials.

CGEA/IPODEC Ireland Ltd are active in all areas of waste management from the collection of waste to its treatment and disposal. According to the group: "We offer local communities and companies a specialised service for the global treatment of waste and employ innovative and appropriate solutions to improve treatment, control risks, and reduce environmental impact."

The group currently handles about 150,000 tonnes of commercial waste per annum and has a client base of around 2,000. It has 30-years experience in the Irish waste management market and has service centres in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. Its clients include Dell Computers, Aer Lingus, Aer Rianta, Gateway, Lotus, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Data Products and Irish Estates Management.

IPODEC, for example, manages the operation of South Dublin County Council's waste baling and materials recycling facility at Ballymount in Dublin. Management of this facility involves all aspects of the operation, including staffing, technical expertise, maintenance, baling, loading, transport to the landfill site, unloading and stacking of the baled material at the landfill, day-to-day management of the landfill facility, and sourcing and disposal of recoverable materials from the civic amenity wing of the transfer station. This contract represents 250,000 tonnes of domestic waste a year.

Vivendi is an international utilities group with activities in the waste, water, energy, construction, transport and communications sectors. It began in Paris in 1853, and operates more than 100 incineration plants and 100 landfill sites disposing of some 25 million tones of waste per annum. Vivendi operates in 90 countries, employs around 220,000 people, has a turnover in excess of £20 billion and is one of France's most important quoted companies.