New additions to fleet amid exciting times for Enva

23/11/2023

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Recycling and resource recovery specialist Enva recently took delivery of two stunning new Volvo FM500 8x2 rigids with Kroll vacuum tanks as part of its replenishment programme.

They are the latest additions to the Portlaoise-headquartered company’s impressive fleet. Purchased from Irish Commercials in Naas, the new rigids come with day cabs, 500hp engines, 12-speed gearbox, driving package and visibility package. Enva is a leading recycling and resource recovery solution provider across the UK and Ireland, operating across four core waste streams: Hazardous Materials, Non-Hazardous Materials, Hydrocarbons and General Waste Recycling. With sustainability at the forefront of its business, Enva’s vision is to work in partnership with its stakeholders to help protect and preserve the world’s finite resources.

Enva has improved its CO2 performance for a third successive year, recently announcing that the use of its recovered materials avoided the generation of 336,000 tonnes of CO2. This saving is 11 times more than the carbon it produces from its operations and means it remains on course to meet its ambitious target of ’15 times’ by 2025.

Within its latest Sustainability Report, Enva also confirmed its ambition is to complete comprehensive and objective Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for all its recovered materials over the coming year. This work has already highlighted significant CO2 savings for specific recovered materials compared to their virgin equivalents, including Ammonium Sulphate Fertiliser Granules which show a 98% carbon saving, and HDPE and Polypropylene granulate which offer 96% and 91% savings respectively. 

Enva has also announced the formation of the Enva Foundation which promises to offer expertise and capabilities in remediating and restoring post-industrial and polluted sites that have been damaged by human activity, in conjunction with various charity partners. This initiative will play a valuable role in protecting biodiversity and benefit local communities across the UK and Ireland.

Commenting on the launch of the Sustainability Report, Enva CEO Tom Walsh said: “It’s a credit to the whole Enva team that we were able to continue to increase the environmental, social and commercial value we generate, despite what remains a challenging economic backdrop. Increasing the amount of carbon we help avoid to 11 times the amount we generate from our operations keeps us on track to meet our target of 15 times by 2025. 

“We remain committed to maximising the value of the secondary resources we manage and, where relevant, we will continue to take these materials through to fully registered Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) status. This will provide greater parity in the way they are perceived by our customers enabling more robust markets to be formed.”

There was further good news for Enva’s Irish team at the end of last year when the company was honoured with the Outstanding Large Business of the Year Award at the Laois Chamber Awards. The Large Business of the Year Award celebrates Laois businesses employing over 50 employees and is awarded to companies who demonstrate success in company growth and their commitment to research and / or the development of advances in the company’s industry sector. Consideration is also paid to their vision for sustainable growth and their impact on the wider community.

Enva operations began in Portlaoise in 1979. Continued investment in its people and facility since then has provided customers with sustainable, safe and legally compliant environmental solutions. Enva now operates seven regulated facilities in the Republic of Ireland, providing hazardous waste recovery solutions for waste oils, industrial and manufacturing waste, contaminated soils, WEEE waste, batteries, contaminated packaging, plastics, paints, chemicals, sludges and waste waters. 

As businesses are increasingly aware of their environmental impact, Enva continues to innovate and grow with its customers to provide a greater range of solutions for resource recovery and environmental management.

Roger McDermott, Enva Managing Director for the Republic of Ireland said: “Our growth is really down to our dedicated and talented teams across the business. Portlaoise and the surrounding area has an educated and experienced workforce that has helped drive innovation and growth. We are fortunate to have a team passionate about sustainability, possessing a depth of knowledge and experience to nurture innovative environmental management solutions.”

In another exciting development, Enva recently commenced construction of a new facility that will manufacture agricultural fertiliser pellets containing Ammonium Sulphate (AMS) recovered by Enva from industrial liquid wastes. The €5m investment at Enva’s EPA-licensed facility in Greenogue, Dublin will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world and will utilise an innovative process developed in-house by the company. 

Once operational later this year, the facility will produce around 4,500 tonnes of fertiliser pellets a year for use in a range of applications including agriculture, horticulture and greenkeeping. The pellets are of a comparable physical specification to those manufactured from virgin resources, but have a far lower environmental impact. The pellets will also reduce the need to import the equivalent tonnage of virgin fertiliser into Ireland every year.

Commenting on the commencement of construction, Roger McDermott said: “This project will deliver a unique and innovative recovery process in line with our circular economy objectives and a commitment to replace virgin materials with more sustainable secondary resources. In doing so we will unlock a range of environmental benefits and help Ireland in becoming increasingly self-sufficient with regards to fertiliser.

“This new facility will also see us meet our stated objective of bringing at least one new recovery solution to market every year. This is the culmination of 5 years of research and development work within Enva and I’m delighted to see work getting underway.”

The project will involve several international technology partners led by Titan Salt, a specialist in the design, fabrication, construction, installation and commissioning of mineral salt production facilities based in the Netherlands.

Speaking on their involvement, Titan Salt’s Group CEO Robert Van Voorst explained: "At Titan Salt, we are proud and honoured to provide Enva with the most innovative and effective technology in a project that is breaking new ground in resource recovery and reducing the environmental impact of an industrial liquid waste stream.”

The project is one of many innovative developments Enva is making in full alignment with the circular economy objectives and adds to its suite of fully recovered resources that Enva produces to replace virgin products.

Enva

Clonminam Industrial Estate,

Knockmay,

Portlaoise,

Co. Laois,

R32 XD95.

Telephone: 057 867 8600

Web: www.enva.com

First published in Irish Trucker magazine Vol 26 No 6, October/November 2023