Walker Recycling Services Ltd has established itself as one of Ireland’s leading agricultural recycling contractors over the past 15 years. Managing director Robert Walker explains more about his exceptional Portlaoise-based waste management company which also provides an extensive tyre collection service.
As a registered contractor with the IFFPG (Irish Farm Film Producers Group), Walker Recycling Services Ltd collects and processes farm plastics on its behalf in counties Laois, Kildare, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, and Clare. The company accepts all forms of farm plastic, including bale wraps, silage pit covers, fertiliser and feed bags, netting and spray cans, which must be triple rinsed.
The IFFPG is the national farm plastics recycling compliance scheme. Its role is to provide cost-effective compliance to members and a comprehensive recycling service for farmers nationwide to ensure that the national recycling targets set out by the Government are exceeded. This is achieved by operating approximately 235 bring centres annually as well as providing a farmyard collection service. The IFFPG is currently recycling in excess of 25,000 tonne of farm plastics annually, which equates to a national recycling rate of over 70 per cent. The scheme is “not for profit” and is funded through a levy that is charged to members. Additional funding is received through a weight-based collection charge that farmers pay.
“As an approved IFFPG contractor, we collect both at the farmyard and at designated bring centres in six different counties,” Robert explains.
“The IFFPG assists local authorities with enforcing the farm plastics regulations. We have weigh bridges at each bring centre where we provide farmers with their recycling certs. The busiest time of the year for us is from April to September when we run approximately 100 collection days.”
IFFPG contractors such as Walker Recycling Services have their trucks fitted with sophisticated weight cell equipment which is used at farmyards to accurately weigh the plastic and charge the farmer accordingly. The contractors weigh plastic at bring centres on static weigh bridges (where they exist) and mobile weigh bridges. Once the plastic is collected, the material is baled up for shipping and recycled into refuse sacks, piping, damp proofing products and even garden furniture.
Robert runs an impressive fleet of Iveco and Renault trucks – eight artic units and four rigid units – along with a range of skip and ejector trailers. Between drivers and staff who are based at his state-of-the-art recycling facility, he employs 22 people and has further plans for expansion.
“We’ve come a long way since 2004 when I started the business on the family farm here in Clonkeen, which is on the Mountrath Road out of Portlaoise,” says Robert, who is joined in the company by his wife Jacqueline, son Alex and his daughters Lesley and Karen.
“I was a dairy farmer when I had a massive brain haemorrhage in 2003. I had to sell the cows and was out of action for about a year. At around the same time, the national farm plastics recycling compliance scheme was launched and a few local farmers contacted me to see if I’d be interested in collecting their plastic. Having started off collecting a few hundred tonne in the first year or two, we’re now collecting 12-14,000 tonne per year. Walker Recycling Services happened more by accident than design.
“Over the years, we’ve invested heavily in our recycling facility, plant and equipment. The facility is over 10,000 square metres in size and includes a 16-metre weighbridge for incoming and outgoing records. The processing plant occupies a large area and is equipped to handle and process all of the 50,000 tonnes allowed under our facility permit.
“The farm plastic that comes in is shredded, cleaned and baled before it’s exported mainly to Holland, England and Scotland as a green waste. Our long-term goal is to fully recycle the plastic ourselves and bring it to a product. We hope to be the first in Ireland to be able to do this and it’s something we’re working towards at the moment.”
Walker Recycling Services commenced its tyre collection service two years ago is now collecting approximately 100 tonne of used tyres per week. The Repak ELT approved company specialises in responsible end-of-life disposal and recycling. Covering a large part of the country, Walker Recycling Services recycles car, truck, agricultural and industrial tyres, providing a convenient and cost-effective service. Its customer-base includes garages and tyre retail outlets, scrapyards, farms and household waste recycling centres.
Whether it’s a single waste tyre or full loads of waste tyres, Robert and his team can collect. No collection is too big or too small. Its specialist tyre shredding equipment turns your unwanted tyres into material suitable for a variety of recreational and industrial purposes.
Tyres are made from vulcanised rubber which is a chemically enhanced rubber designed to be very durable. This material is high toxic for both humans and the environment. Walker Recycling Services’ tyre collection and approved recycling services ensure that waste tyres are recycled in an environmentally-friendly manner. Collections can be tailored to match customer needs and to ensure that tyre stocks are kept in manageable quantities.
Depending on customer size and willingness to enter into a service contract, Walker Recycling Services also provide the option of dropping skips on customer sites. Skips can be filled at the customer’s own pace and can be easily swapped when full. This ensures efficiency and that Walker Recycling Services spends as little time as possible in customers’ sites.
“We believe that customer service is important in every business. That is why we strive to provide a service that is second to none. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers for their continued support,” Robert concludes.
Office opening hours are from 8am to 6pm Monday-Friday (closed on Saturdays and Sundays).
Walker Recycling Services Ltd
Clonkeen,
Portlaoise,
Co. Laois.
Telephone: 057 8622204
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 7 No 6, November 2019
