RiverRidge Recycling, Northern Ireland’s most integrated waste management company, welcomed members from the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) to its state of the art Materials Recovery Facility in Garvagh.
Based across four sites, Garvagh, Newbuildings, Portadown and Belfast, RiverRidge Recycling provides a comprehensive range of waste management services and solutions to a highly diverse customer base across both the private and public sectors of Northern Ireland.
Brett Ross, Managing Director said, “We were delighted to welcome members of the CIWM Northern Ireland Centre to the Garvagh site and greatly appreciate them taking the time out of their busy diaries to come and visit us.”
During the visit members learned about the company’s innovative recycling model in Northern Ireland and this was followed by a complete tour of the Material Recycling Facility. The walk around allowed visitors to see, first-hand, the advanced approach to recycling and included details of several technological and energy efficient systems which allows RiverRidge to be energy self-sufficient as well as manage over 360,000mt of waste annually.
Tony Law, the Chairman of the NI centre commented, “I would like to thank Brett and the wider RiverRidge team for this opportunity to understand the company’s modus operandi. All the processes and methodologies were very impressive and RiverRidge is an excellent example of a modern, innovative waste management company. The visit was an extremely informative experience, my colleagues and I were able to see the work that is being done to make this side of the industry more efficient and effective.”
Over the last number of years, the company has transformed significantly from a family-run operation, offering basic waste collection and disposal services, to Northern Ireland’s largest independent waste management company.
Now employing over 190 people and processing in excess of 200,000mt of local authority black bin waste from six NI council areas. Over 60% of this waste is converted to an RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) and diverted away from landfill in line with the EU Landfill Directive.
Tony continued, “I was on this site eight years ago and to see the exceptional strides which RiverRidge has made in that time is nothing short of remarkable, redesigning its approach to recycling and waste management to greatly benefit Northern Ireland.
“It is great to see such investment being offered to Northern Ireland’s recycling and waste management infrastructure, this investment and effort has and will continue to have a hugely positive impact on the environment and the local economy.”
Brett concluded, “We were delighted to have the NI members visit our premises, as we are always keen to showcase all the work that we do. This visit was a great opportunity for both organisations to share a common understanding of how important it is to provide customers with the most efficient waste management service possible in order to contribute to our environment and to this country’s wider economic growth.
“It was a great privilege to host our CIWM colleagues and everyone at RiverRidge Recycling looks forward to a continued professional association.”
