£1 million recycling investment in Northern Ireland

Two Northern Irish recycling companies have between them gained £1 million (US$ 1.9 million) of investment through the UK's Waste & Resources Action Plan (WRAP) eQuip Residual Value Guarantee Scheme.

The two companies concerned gained funding through Bank of Scotland Corporate, whose associate director Chris Cresswell said in a statement: “Operating in environmental industries can often require the use of new technologies that have not yet been proven. This can often present a barrier to entry for companies who have difficulties in finding lenders willing to invest in new and relatively unproven technologies, due to the risky nature of calculating the machinese's residual value at the end of the lease period.”

The first company to benefit is Irish Recycling Services, based in blast, who operates a material recovery centre that accepts C&D waste, as well as general waste and waste from local council amenity sites. It has secured £637,000 (US$1.2 million) of funding to allow the purchase of a new screen, separator and conveyor system.

The second company to benefit from the eQuip initiative is ISL Waste Management, based in Mallusk, County Antrim, who processes paper, cardboard and plastics. It will install a new sorting line that will boost capacity to 18,000 tons per year.