€13m fund recycling businesses

A €13 million fund has been set up to encourage businesses to become involved in turning recycled waste into products that can be manufactured and sold on.

Ireland exports 1.5 million tonnes, the equivalent of three-quarters of all recycled waste generated annually, mostly to China where it returns as products such as cartons, fleeces and school bags.

The Government is to provide the funding to businesses as part of a market development programme over the next five years.

The money will go towards research and development for companies which are prepared to transform waste such as glass, plastic, paper and organic materials into manufactured products.

Tenders will be produced in the coming months looking to develop new composting techniques while another tender will concentrate on waste plastic. Speaking at the launch, the Minister for the Environment John Gormley said thousands of jobs could be created by “waste entrepreneurs”.

The creation of “wealth from waste” was essential as Ireland had to more than double to 80 per cent the amount of biodegradable waste that it must recycle by 2016, he stressed.

He said the fund would help businesses overcome the low price for waste and the economies of scale of operating in a small country which have acted as a deterrent for companies to become involving in processing waste products.

“Waste is a very valuable resource. Composting is relatively easily done and that can create thousands of jobs alone. There are many people who understand the worth of this and that they can make a profit, create jobs and protect the environment,” he said.

Among those attending the launch were Castleblayney-based Shabra which employs 49 people. It takes waste plastic and converts it into plastic bags, containers and the raw materials for fibres which are in turn made into fleeces.

Kevin McCabe, from Enrich Environmental a Kilcock-based company which recycles garden cuttings into compost, said the initiative was very timely. “Anything that stops material going to landfill and the mining of virgin material such as peat for compost is a good thing,” he said.