A nationwide experience

Recycling services play an important role in the environment and a Dublin based firm are one such business that has established itself among the bigger waste management companies.

M&J’s Recycling Services Ltd are based at Millenium Business Park, Ballycoolin, Co Dublin and the company specialises in the transportation of all waste recyclables and non-recyclables. Company director Jackie McCaul spoke to Irish Trucker about the background of the business and how she and husband Seamus had built up such an impressive client list. Not only are M&J’s based in Millenium, but they also have a yard in Swords.

Having spent a number of years living in the UK, the McCaul family made the big decision to move back to Ireland and set up home in the Royal County.

Moving lock, stock and barrel is not a decision that can be made lightly at any time, but the fact that the McCauls’ were running a successful skip hire business in the UK made their decision even more complicated. With a number of years experience in the industry behind them, Jackie revealed that it helped when setting up their new business venture back home.
“We had the skip hire company for about 10 years before we decided to sell up and move home. Having that experience was a big help in setting up the recycling company”, she revealed.

Not surprisingly as is in the case with the majority of fledgling businesses, it took M&J’s some time to firmly establish themselves in the industry, but as Jackie admitted their client list has now grown considerably.

“It did take some time and a lot of hard work to get the business off the ground, but thankfully it has paid off in the long run and we are pleased with the way the business is progressing.”

“We specialise in the transport of all recyclable and non-recyclable waste that we collect, which basically means that the waste we collect has already been collected from the point of origin, brought back to the recycling facility by either skip lorry or REL (dustbin lorry), tipped into the relevant waste transfer station where it is sorted and processed into various categories for us to transport to either the relevant recycling plants or to the landfill. We have waste permits for the 32 counties and the whole of the U.K which took some time to get.”

In fact the company MD revealed that they have been obtaining the permits from the various local authorities since they were first introduced and finally completed the set only six months ago, such is the legislation attached to the industry.

Mismanagement of waste is a major concern and that is an issue that has been dealt with in the Regional Waste Management Plan along with every other area of waste management.

“There is so mush paperwork involved now compared to only a few years back, but it is good to see as everyone concerned can monitor the waste more easily. There are new legislations being introduced all the time and hopefully this can lead to a safer environment.”
M&J’s client list is a who’s who of the waste industry with a service being provided for firms such as Greenstar, Oxigen Environmental, Midland Waste, Thorntons, Wallace Recycling and the AES Group with Greenstar being their main customer.

Jackie explained that when they first set out their only customer was Murphy Waste in St Margarets, whom shortly after sold to Greenstar.

In July 06 Greenstar opened their state of the art facility in Millenium Business Park and M&J’s moved with them and worked close in hand with them to help ensure all waste is dealt with effectively. Seamus said that Greenstar have been a great company to work for and without them they would not be where they are today. He said that at the beginning Greenstar was our sole customer and even today they make up more than 50% of our work.

As 99% of waste must be transported, the haulage industry plays a very important role in waste management and in particular the safe and legal movement of the various materials. This is why the Permits are audited on a regular basis and Garda checkpoints are placed throughout the country.

There are currently 20 trucks, mostly 6x4, operating with some assigned to the various companies on a full time basis, with another four 6x4 tractor units scheduled for 2008. We do our own maintenance and have three full time mechanics, while we are on the look out for another one. The trucks are kept relatively new and our favourite makes are Volvo and DAF, which we find to be very reliable and give the minimum of trouble.

Other conditions attached to the permit are how the waste is handled, the quantities involved and that the materials must be brought to a legal facility.

Landfill is another issue that people must address. Traditionally waste has a bad name, especially in terms of landfill sites as no one wants them near their home, but plans are in place to decrease their role in waste management.

Our job entails bringing the minimum amount of waste and the maximum amount to the recycling facilities. The material must be correct and in line with the many regulations in place.

M&J’s Recycling Services Ltd employ a staff of 33 people and Jackie stressed that without a good work force they would not have built such an excellent reputation.

“Our employees are all very much part of the team, while all our highly trained in their field which makes our job that bit easier at the end of the day. The right staff are very important and without them it would be just impossible.

They have just managed to secure two more new contracts with Greenstar (one in their facility in Wexford and one at their facility in Grey) which they are currently monitoring closely to see weather they will need to invest in extra trucks or trailers and indeed extra staff. Seamus stated that he likes to ensure that he has ample equipment to cope for the unexpected and although he runs a tight ship there is always an extra couple of trailers available for the times when the customers need waste out at short notice or for when weather closes the landfill sites and the customers experience a build up of waste that needs to be transported urgently.

The company is very much a family run company with Jackie and Seamus as the only directors and their three sons James, John and Joseph all very much involved. Seamus said that many people are curious as to what the ‘M’ stands for in their company name, he explained that the M is for Michael a son that they sadly lost in 2001 and the J’s are their other 4 children James, John, Joe and Jacqueline. Many people assume that there must be another silent partner involved because they cannot place what the M stands for.

M&J’s introduced a new tracking system recently to help monitor all loads more effectively and to help track and trace their drivers. The system means that should there be any problems such as delays in being loaded or problems with one of the vehicles such as a tyre puncture then we can quickly and effectively re route to the best and most cost effective options available.