Greenstar, UK firm to back €40m waste deal

NTR's waste management subsidiary Greenstar and Bedminster, a company backed by businessman Bill McCabe, are to invest €40 million in a series of waste-to-energy sites around the State.

The two companies will fund the plan on a 50/50 basis over a three-year period. Biodegradable waste, which normally ends up in landfill sites, will be used to ultimately produce a biofuel which can replace traditional fossil fuels like coal or oil. The proposed facilities are subject to site selection, planning and licensing.

From 2013 onwards, Government policy stipulates that local authorities will have to find alternative ways to treat about 300,000 tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste each year. The two companies said yesterday its plants, when operational, would be able to handle over 100,000 tonnes of organic material a year.

"The project will also bring Ireland a step closer to meeting its obligations under the EU landfill directive, which is due to be enacted into Irish law within the coming 12 months. It will also help Ireland reduce carbon emissions as required under the Kyoto protocol," a statement from the companies said yesterday.

Technology used by Bedminster features a biological process to convert organic material into clean biofuel, which has the same energy value as peat.

Steve Cowman, chief executive of Greenstar, said that, in future, much attention would focus on diverting organic waste from landfill, recovering the resource and deriving valuable product from it.

Bedminster is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oyster Capital, which Mr McCabe chairs. Martin Scully, chief executive of Oyster Capital, said: "This agreement with Greenstar will see the introduction to Ireland of the unique Bedminster technology for the treatment of organic waste in a most effective and efficient manner."

Bedminster International continues to expand internationally in several major markets, where it converts organic material to compost and then biofuel. The Kyoto protocol has narrowed the cost differences between traditional fossil fuels and alternative energy sources. This is because those who burn large amounts of fossil fuels have to buy carbon emissions credits.

Earlier this year, Bedminster signed a $200-million (€168 million) 25-year deal in New York for the treatment of 400 tonnes of organic waste per day.

Since its inception in 1999, Greenstar has invested in excess of €170 million in infrastructure and strategic acquisitions and has increased employment from 100 to over 500. The company operates a number of landfill sites including one at Kilcullen, Co Kildare. It has recently opened another landfill in Knockharley, Co Meath and is developing a third in Kilconnell, Co Galway. Greenstar posted turnover of €82 million in 2004.