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The
firm’s technology allows the recycling of 80% of
household waste using steam treatment and mechanical sorting.
The process converts the waste food and paper into a pure
‘”biomass” which has multiple uses.
The system also steam cleans and recycles the non-organics
such as metals and plastics.
Sterecycle
raised an earlier round of funding in 2005 with which
it has built its first plant in the UK. This plant will
be operational early in 2007. This latest funding along
with debt facilities will enable Sterecycle to build a
further four specialist waste management plants each capable
of processing 100,000 tonnes of waste per year. Each plant
can process the household waste created by a town of 200,000
people, and the company is at an advanced stage of negotiation
to install plants for several local authorities.
Duncan
Grierson (37), chief executive and founder of Sterecycle
commented: “With the support of such a well-respected
shareholder as Goldman Sachs we will be able to grow much
faster and take full advantage of the considerable market
opportunities.
“The
market for waste recycling solutions is growing rapidly,
and ever-tougher environmental legislation such as the
Landfill Directive will see demand for our recycling services
increase further. We are working on several projects around
the UK and with additional debt financing we now have
access to over £40 million of capital.
The
system is cleaner and more cost effective than other recycling
systems. The Sterecycle biomass can be used as a green
Renewable Energy source, as a soil conditioner for land
remediation, and can even be used in the manufacture of
fibre-board products.
Duncan
Grierson added, “There are tough government targets
for the recycling of household waste which are difficult
to meet by simply asking householders to separate their
domestic waste at home. Sterecycle’s system avoids
the need for that.
Simon
Mansfield, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs International
commented: “We are delighted to announce this investment
in Sterecycle. The business has done a great job in building
a technology platform to provide solutions to solve the
waste management problem in the UK. With an impressive
management team and significant additional capital on
its balance sheet, we believe Sterecycle is extremely
well-positioned to develop its market share in the UK."
Andy
Hinton, a waste management entrepreneur behind several
successful waste management businesses has been Chairman
of the firm since investing in 2005. Hinton led the MBO
team that turned around the UK’s leading medical
waste business White Rose Environmental and sold it for
£35m in 2004. Hinton has various other waste investments
through his Ailsa3 Ventures fund including the UK’s
leading tyre recycling business Credential Environmental.
Hinton said: “This is a great step forward for Sterecycle
and means we can look at a wider variety of opportunities.
I used an early autoclaving technique to treat medical
waste at White Rose. Using the Sterecycle process for
treating household waste is a massive step towards achieving
national recycling targets and is also cost-effective
for local authorities. We are able to offer five year
contracts to local authorities unlike the typical 25 year
contracts necessary for other technologies.
Public
concern over the use of landfill, and the health risks
associated with Mass Burn Incineration have pushed councils
towards the use of the now economically viable and truly
‘green’ alternatives such as Sterecycle’s
process.
The
financing round was led by Goldman Sachs, the world leading
investment bank which was founded in 1869 and has some
$25 billion of world-wide turnover. Michael Linse, executive
director of Goldman Sachs has joined the board of Sterecycle.
For
more information visit the Stereclycle
website at www.sterecycle.com
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