Panda opens €5m metals & plastics recovery system to 'catch' items wrongly put in black bin
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Tariff ‘uncertainties' could ‘weigh heavily' on Irish economic growth
Ireland is the country most exposed to the threat of US tariffs after Mexico and Canada, the OECD said on Tuesday, with exports to the US accounting for close to 20 per cent of GDP. The group's economic outlook says Donald Trump's trade policies will damage consumer and business sentiment in Ireland and could 'weigh heavily' on economic growth if the US administration adds pharmaceuticals to the list of imports subjected to tariffs. The Paris-based organisation also warned that public spending in the Republic is 'surging' as the new Government rolls out measures announced in Budget 2025. While the State's tax revenues remain strong, the impact of Mr Trump's trade agenda could lead to 'weaker' returns, putting pressure on the public coffers. The OECD said these 'looming risks warrant greater fiscal prudence' on the Coalition's part. READ MORE The organisation also warned that mounting uncertainties around tariffs are expected to weigh on consumer and business sentiment and 'restrain business investment and household consumption' in 2025 and 2026. Due to the 'key role of a few foreign-owned multinationals in export-oriented sectors, like pharmaceuticals or advanced computer and business services', it said, new industry-specific tariffs could lower economic growth and 'adversely impact fiscal balances'. In Ireland, GDP group is now projected to come in at 3.7 per cent this year, falling to 2.3 per cent in 2026. Modified domestic demand, which controls for the big distortions arising from the activity of multinationals, is projected to expand by 2.2 per cent in 2025 and 2.1 per cent best year, in 2026, below its long-term average of 2.7. Gloablly. the OECD forecasts global economic growth to slow to 2.9 per cent this year from 3.3 per cent in 2024. It expects the rate of expansion in the US will tumble further, to 1.6 per cent from 2.8 per cent last year – an outlook that is significantly lower than its projection 2.2 per cent in March. Washington's policies have tipped the world economy into a downturn clouded in heightened uncertainty, with the US among the hardest hit, it said in its twice-yearly economic outlook report on Tuesday. 'Weakened economic prospects will be felt around the world, with almost no exception,' chief economist Alvaro Pereira said. 'Lower growth and less trade will hit incomes and slow job growth.' The assessment indicates how Trump's policies have become the most pressing problem for the global economy, with no easy solution in sight. The situation could yet be exacerbated by retaliation from US trading partners, a further erosion of confidence, or another bout of repricing on financial markets, the OECD said. The club of 38 rich countries published its forecasts just as its members' ministers convene in Paris for an annual meeting. Top commerce officials are expected there include US trade representative Jamieson Greer and EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. Lin Feng, a representative from China's ministry of commerce, is also scheduled to attend. 'Agreements to ease trade tensions and lower tariffs and other trade barriers will be instrumental to revive growth and investment and avoid rising prices,' the OECD said. 'This is by far the most important policy priority.' Yet the organisation also said that even if Trump reversed course on tariffs, the bonus in terms of growth and reduced inflation would not materialise immediately, due to a persistent drag from heightened uncertainty over policy. For the US, the OECD said curbs on immigration and a sizeable reduction in the federal workforce add to the trade-related drag on the economy. It also cautioned that the budget deficit will expand further as the effect of weaker economic activity will more than offset spending cuts and revenues from tariffs. Inflation in the US will also move higher this year, making it likely that the Federal Reserve will not resume easing policy until 2026, according to the OECD. That process may even be derailed if consumer-price expectations get de-anchored, it added. Besides the fallout from global trade, the organisation also warned that fiscal risks are intensifying around the world, with 'tremendous' pressures for more spending on defence, climate and ageing populations. It called for governments to reduce non-essential spending and raise revenues by broadening tax bases. – Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Ryanair to base fourth aircraft at Shannon adding routes to Madrid and Lapland
Ryanair announced on Wednesday it will add a fourth aircraft at Shannon Airport this winter, described as a 'gamechanger' for the region, adding 100,000 passengers. The announcement will see three new routes this winter to Lapland, Madeira and Madrid, in addition to extra flights on six existing routes - Alicante, Edinburgh, Kraków, Lanzarote, Manchester, and Wrocław - for Winter 25/26. The announcement will help to deliver 20% traffic growth to Shannon. 'This expansion offers even greater choice for our passengers and strengthens Shannon's position as a key gateway to and from the West of Ireland. Ryanair's investment is a powerful endorsement of the potential of Shannon, a vote of confidence in the market here, and a testament to the progress we've made growing passenger numbers,' said Shannon Airport Group chief executive Mary Considine. 'We see a huge potential for growth and believe there is a real opportunity for Shannon Airport to lead the way in rebalancing the national landscape." Ryanair's chief commercial officer Jason McGuinness said the company is investing €350m in the region. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he said: 'We've been here at Shannon Airport for 36 years. There's an ambitious management team here that understands the competition they face against the 40 countries and 240 airports that Ryanair operates across Europe. 'We are probably one of the biggest single investors in regional Ireland at the moment. We've doubled the amount of seats we're offering across regional Irish airports and we have doubled the number of passengers we have in Shannon from 800,000 to 1.6m.' Passenger numbers at Shannon Airport reached a 15-year high in 2024, surpassing 2.1m in the 12 months. The addition of a fourth aircraft will mean it will have one more than Cork Airport, which last year reported 3.1m passengers. Asked if Ryanair will also seek to increase its fleet in Cork Airport, Mr McGuinness said: 'I would hope so. We are very committed to regional Irish airports. We have three aircraft based in Cork this winter, but I would hope that could increase. I'm happy to talk to anyone of our 240 airports across Europe.' 'Both airports can grow and we can add more routes to both, but we have never been shy in saying that we allocate capacity wherever costs are best and where we can get the best long-term deals. If the DAA want to come up with something better in terms of its cost base for Cork, we're very happy to talk to them.' 'In terms of our plan to grow from 20m passengers to 30m, the majority of that growth, around 60%, was actually in regional airports, predominantly in Cork and Shannon.' The added aircraft for the 2025 Shannon Airport winter season will result in an additional $100m investment by Ryanair, which Mr McGuinness said is already investing heavily in the region. 'There will be a direct extra 30 jobs spanning across pilots and cabin crew, as well as additional in maintenance and in engineering. We're also likely to be announcing more maintenance jobs in Shannon over the next few months.' Mary Considine, CEO of the Shannon Airport Group told the Irish Examiner: 'This is a massive vote of confidence for us. The more aircraft we have here, the more frequency and services Ryanair can offer. In addition to increased frequencies for our six most popular routes, they have also been able to announce three new routes for the winter.'
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Private equity interest turns up the heat on Ireland's fire-safety sector
Industry consolidation and recurring revenues make safety service providers an appealing target Private equity firms are stepping up their interest in Ireland's fire safety sector, as the lure of consolidating the fragmented industry attracts more international investors. The latest sign of M&A activity heating up came last week when Ranger Fire and Security, backed by London-based investment firm Hyperion Equity Partners, bought Aqua Fire Prevention. The deal was Ranger's second acquisition in Ireland, building on last year's purchase of KSS Fire Suppression and its 10th deal overall since launching in early 2024. Mark Bridges, CEO of Ranger, said the seven-figure deal to buy Aqua was the first of many for the private equity-backed group. 'It wouldn't surprise me if we did another three or four this year in Ireland alone,' he said. 'We are a broad church. We cover all services with a real focus on the active fire and security elements, especially the maintenance side.' Bridges said Ranger would invest 'multiple millions' in the Irish market as it hopes to consolidate the 'very fragmented' fire-safety sector. He added that Ireland was attracting more attention from buyers. If the right deal comes up, I'll take it. A good business is always hard to get 'We all want to be early adopters,' he said. 'We weren't first, but we're seeing more interest in the space.' Looking at the Irish industry, Bridges said the fire-safety sector in Ireland had many appealing characteristics. 'It is in life safety, which is clearly very important to people and something that is unlikely to be reduced by any government. It's more likely to be enhanced, because of the importance of keeping people safe. 'But the market is incredibly fragmented. There are 4,000 businesses in the UK and Ireland. It's regulated, and the regulations in Ireland are very similar to those in the UK. 'Finally, because of the maintenance-led approach that we focus on, there are recurring revenues – and that is appealing. All those characteristics make it an exciting sector,' Bridges added. ADVERTISEMENT 'We think, therefore, we can do some really good things in the market as well.' The acquisition of Aqua, founded by Brendan Mooney in 1986 and with 3,000 customers, including RTÉ and Boyle Sports, will see the brand retained, with cross-selling opportunities into the group's other fire-safety entities. Ranger hopes to become the go-to provider in the UK and Ireland sector, with revenue now hitting £40m. Aqua's core services include fire extinguisher supply and installation, equipment service and maintenance, fire prevention compliance and fire safety training. Hyperion is not the only private equity player that has acquired Irish fire-safety firms. Dutch private equity firm Waterland acquired fire protection system provider Writech in 2021. Ted Wright, CEO of Writech, said the Mullingar-based group now owns six businesses in Ireland, with three more in the UK and another three in Europe. It is in the process of acquiring a 13th business in the UK. 'If the right deal comes up, I'll take it,' he says. 'Ireland is difficult to do a deal in any way. A lot of founders have really looked after their business. A good business is always hard to get. There will always be competition for good businesses. 'It is more private equity than trade,' he added on the competition. Wright said Writech was not actively looking in Ireland, but its 'ears were always open' for deals.
