Processes and recycles 'black bag' household and commercial/industrial waste, converting 70% for recycling and productive use. The company utilises autoclave technology to process waste, converting the organic content (waste paper, card and vegetable matter) into a biomass-rich fibre while sorting the dry recyclables such as plastics and metals. The fibre is suitable for use as a soil conditioner or as a biomass-rich fuel for the creation of 'green energy'

October 2005

Ailsa3 recognised the potential of this company and took a minority interest in the venture; Andy Hinton became chairman of Sterecycle in 2005.

The Sterecycle patented system is safer, cleaner, more cost effective and more efficient than existing technologies. With the massive increases in land fill tax (£40/tonne in 2009, rising incrementally to £72/tonne in 2013) together with EU Directives demanding a reduction in the amount of biodegradable waste that is land filled, the Sterecycle process represents a genuine and attractive alternative to land fill and the company is well placed to take market share.

Sterecycle has completed two further rounds of equity financing, raising in total £20m from major institutional investors, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity and Impax. This enabled the company to open the UK's first commercial scale autoclave treatment plant in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in June 2008. The plant has been fully operational for 12 months, now processing 100,000tpa. The company gained planning permission to double the size of the plant in January 2008 and has won a ten year contract from three local authorities to fill the plant.

The company has now established an excellent platform for growth, with a pipeline of further sites and contract bids. Sterecycle has now begun a further round of fundraising, seeking to raise £50m of new capital to fund this accelerated growth.

To find out more, visit www.sterecycle.com

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