Member Article

Recycling firm unearths growth opportunities

A NORTHUMBERLAND green waste recycling business is set to break into the bio-fuels market and expand to a new site after securing a £100,000 cash injection.

Com-vert takes garden waste from local authorities, businesses and gardeners and recycles it to produce compost which is approved by the Soil Association to use on organic farms.

The products can also be purchased by the general public at local recycling centres.

Set up by Joe and Dan Robinson in 2002 to diversify the family farm’s output, Com-vert has gone from strength to strength, helping councils including Sunderland City Council and Northumberland County Council to reach recycling targets set by legislation such as the EU landfill directive.

Dan Robinson, managing director at Com-vert, said: “The farm has been in our family for 150 years and, as the agriculture market evolves and becomes more competitive, we spotted an opportunity to break into the organic recycling market, diversifying our output and increasing turnover.

“Now, eight years on, Com-vert is branching out again to supply bio-fuels and increase its recycling capacity. This means we will be able to recycle garden waste into a sustainable and useful product.”

The company, which employs five people, also has plans to move into the bio-mass market, which involves converting solid pieces of garden waste, into bio-fuels which can be used as a carbon neutral alternative to fossil fuels.

The firm secured a £100,000 factoring facility from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance alongside an Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) loan from Lloyds TSB Commercial.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .