RECYCLING mountains of rubbish could put Ian Walker top of the heap.
His WRS Composting firm in Ince Blundell, near Formby, has just opened a new £900,000 processing plant to turn garden rubbish into a soil conditioning compost, which is an environmentally friendly alternative to peat.
Ian said: "The new plant at North End farm brings the company's existing operations under one roof and will allow us to handle up to 30,000 tonnes of green waste from local authorities and private businesses each year.
"By having our site here the material is processed locally and used by local businesses and people, which avoids the need to transport it outside Merseyside for landfill."
Ian reckons his turnover has trebled in the current year and, with local demand growing all the time due to landfill restrictions, should reach £1m in the 2006/2007 financial year.
He has recruited four staff in the past year and plans to add two more soon.
The expansion was helped by two grants from Business Link for Greater Merseyside, organised by adviser Philip Ambler who helped Ian overcome previous funding problems. Ian explained:
"We've tried in the past to get grants and failed - you need the specialist knowledge of drafting which Philip supplied and we would not have got the money without him."
Philip said: "Ian is taking best practice a stage further by creating value at both ends of the operation - first taking in the waste and then turning it into a valuable saleable commodity."
* Contact Business Link for Greater Merseyside on 0845 330 0151.
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