Listen to our MD Joseph Doherty’s interview with Armagh-i

Elaine Ingram from Armagh-i spoke to Managing Director Joseph Doherty about the evolution of Re-Gen, the different components of the business and his nomination in the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He speaks about the human aspect of recycling, what it’s like working closely with his family, and what’s next for Re-Gen. Listen to the podcast here

Elaine said, “It’s easy to imagine that the waste lifted regularly from our streets just vanishes into the ether – out of sight and out of mind – but that’s far from reality. We, as a consumer society, produce more waste than we ever have before, and with products being shipped far and wide around the globe, the growth in packaging has followed suit.

“Around eight million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans every year. We need solutions to deal with all of this waste and create a cleaner and greener world and one homegrown business has a proven track record in innovative waste management.”

Joseph, his three brothers Colin, Aidan and John, and his sister Celine, co-founded the business, with nothing but an idea born from travel and conversations, and that idea has grown into the biggest sorting plant on the island of Ireland.

“Re-Gen Waste is a family-owned Newry-based company established in 2004. We operate 24/7 to process over 1.5 million tonnes of waste from Mixed Dry Recycling to processing Residual Waste for conversion to refuse derived fuel,” explains Joseph.

Re-Gen expanded in 2014 to add a mixed plant facility which deals with non-recyclable waste and they invested in technology to convert that waste to refuse derived fuel (RDF).

The volume of landfill waste has decreased by almost 353,000 tonnes from 2010 to 2020 and that’s largely down to innovative ideas brought to life by businesses like Re-Gen.

The company is continually growing and evolving. Re-Gen recently announced plans to build a £22 million self-fund circular Economy Resource Park in Newry this year. They currently employ around 300 people, and with a further £20 million investment in the production of two new products to bring to the market, the future looks bright for more local jobs.