Bord na Móna Resource Recovery is an integrated waste management business providing a collection service with full recovery, recycling, composting and residual landfill disposal of all non-hazardous waste streams. Waste collection services operate under the AES brand, providing full domestic waste management throughout the Midlands, North East, South East and Mid-West regions and commercial waste management nationwide.
In the domestic business, the acquisition of domestic customers from two competitors, Tag-a-bin and Mahon’s Recycling, increased the domestic customer base by an additional 7,000 customers. The active domestic customer base now totals over 100,000 households.
Customers have also embraced AES digital offerings with over 50% of the domestic base now participating in our paperless billing system and 70% are registered to either pay online or through direct debit. The use of such channels has allowed the Customer Care Team to provide an even better quality of service and a more informative customer experience.
An additional 5,000 organic bins were rolled out to domestic customers during the year. This has allowed improvements in the diversion from landfill and ensured that the business has stayed ahead of regulatory obligations for organic bin roll out.
AES facilities added processing capacity during the year; currently operating 95,000 tonnes of commercial and construction waste processing capacity at the new AES Lusk facility, 40,000 tonnes of Mixed Solid Waste (MSW) capacity at the re-opened AES Portlaoise facility and baling capacity of refuse derived fuel for export commenced at the AES Navan Facility. This has had the effect of decreasing material for direct disposal, increasing recycling and recovery waste streams and reducing end treatment costs.
AES’s commercial business processes moved onto a new best in class software platform in 2015 which was designed specifically for the waste industry. All Resource Recovery locations are using the system which will allow for real-time reporting, improve invoicing accuracy and enable more efficient management of margins for the company.
During the year, waste tonnages inbound for disposal and recovery at the engineered landfill facility in the Drehid Waste Park, were strong. There was also a higher proportion of material used for recovery than in previous years. With a continued focus on operational efficiencies, a review of leachate disposal options will be completed during 2015 in order to achieve further cost reductions.
The compost facility and landfill gas project continue to enjoy a steady performance in 2015. An advanced gas cleaning system, using proprietary technology, will be deployed over the coming months to reduce the maintenance costs of the Landfill Gas Power Plant.
Although slight growth was seen over the last year in waste volumes collected, particularly in the commercial market, industry over-capacity continues to prompt aggressive product pricing. This pricing dynamic has resulted in a challenging market place for all providers.
The full introduction of the mandatory Pay by Weight service type for the domestic sector was postponed until July 2016. This service typically results in a decrease in collected waste volumes and therefore may negatively impact the revenue achieved per customer.
From January 2016 the Drehid Landfill facility licensed capacity for disposal will reduce from 360,000 tonnes per annum to 120,000 tonnes. As a result of this reduction in capacity, increased operational costs per tonne will be experienced.
The business seeks to provide ever higher levels of service to its domestic and commercial customers, thereby reinforcing Resource Recovery’s aspiration to be the service provider of choice. This year the business will deliver a new web based customer interface to its domestic customers. The business is also committed to continue providing innovative solutions for industrial and commercial customers.
The business believes the export of waste is not a long term sustainable solution for the Irish waste market. Through further development of the Drehid Waste Park, including potentially, the build out of the planned mechanical biological treatment facility, Bord na Móna can provide a strategically located sustainable recovery facility helping to fulfil Government policy aspirations in relation to the responsible treatment of waste.
Resource Recovery has made significant progress on improving the return from the business, through lower cost operational measures and with the increased processing capacity the business is well positioned to grow in the coming years. Continued focus on operational efficiencies together with the ability to leverage existing investments and waste collection technologies, underpin this growth potential in the midst of a changing market environment.