Waste company Panda has opened a new €5m metals and plastics recovery system at its materials handling facility at Millennium Park in Dublin.
The new investment is part of a major €160m capital expenditure programme by Panda’s parent company Beauparc to expand recycling initiatives throughout the Irish waste sector. The plan will create about 300 new jobs in Ireland.
Panda’s new recovery system will help ensure that metal and plastic items that are incorrectly put into black bins will be extracted from general waste and properly recycled.
Its Millennium Park facility in Finglas handles about up to 5,500 tonnes of waste a week and is the largest waste recycling depot in the State. It has over 440,000 customers across its domestic and commercial business here.
Panda intends to build a similar metal and plastics extraction facility to process waste in the south Dublin area and is also investing in imaging systems to track waste going into trucks, and in new education packs for its customers in relation to the correct use of bins.
Beauparc chief executive Brian McCabe said the new metals and plastics recovery system would have a significant positive impact on overall recycling rates.
“Most people make an effort to place metal and plastics in the recycling bin, but not everyone gets it right all the time. This investment will allow us to catch more of the stuff that shouldn’t be in your black bin and to ensure that it is all recycled properly and efficiently,” Mr McCabe said.
“We spend a lot of time educating consumers about how to use their bins properly, both in Panda and working in partnership with Government and the Irish Waste Management Association, and we are committed to doing even more in this area, but we also want to ensure that if you get it wrong, we have a safety net,” he said.
The Minister of State for Small Business and Retail & Circular Economy Alan Dillon said that Panda has invested significantly in Ireland in recent years to expand its recycling business.
“I was pleased to hear about Panda’s plans for further significant investment to boost the circular economy over the next decade. It is vital that Ireland continues to improve recycling rates and investments such as these are essential to help us meet our national targets,” the Minister said.
