Meath plant to process 120,000 tonnes of bottom ash for reuse in roads and construction

The waste company, Panda, is planning to recycle 120,000 tonnes of bottom ash at its Knockharley facility.

The company has applied to the Environmental Protection Asgency (EPA) to recycle the 120,000 tonnes of bottom ash generated by the Poolbeg incinerator.

Panda's new €35 million Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) processing facility at Knockharley is the first purpose-built plant in the country designed to manage this material domestically.

Instead of exporting 120,000 tonnes of ash abroad every year, Ireland can now process it at home, reducing emissions, strengthening national infrastructure, and recovering valuable resources that would otherwise be lost.

CEO, Brian McCabe, says that at the moment the company is demonstrating that they can achieve “end of waste” without causing problems and when they get end of waste approval from the EPA, the waste ash will be used as a component in cement and roadway construction.

“At the moment, we are taking the metals out of the ash and the residue is being stored in a cell until we have achieved end of waste approval,” he said.

As part of the new process, Panda trucks tip out their waste at Poolbeg, then collect ash there and bring it to the new Knockharley facility.

Each year, around 120,000 tonnes of bottom ash is generated as part of the waste-to-energy process.

Until recently, all of that material was shipped abroad for treatment.

“Our Knockharley facility now provides a full on-island alternative, capable of processing 120,000 tonnes annually.”

“It's good news because we're dealing with it on our own, we're not exporting the material,” he added.

The Knockharley facility recovers ferrous and non ferrous metals from the ash and approximately 8,000 tonnes of metal will be extracted each year, material that can be refined and recycled abroad.

Once metals are removed, the remaining mineral material undergoes treatment and conditioning. This material is currently stored on-site for potential use in the construction sector in the future.

This mirrors well-established practice across the UK and Europe, where processed IBA aggregate is commonly used as a more sustainable option.

“By recovering metals and preparing processed ash for future use as a recycled material, our Knockharley site demonstrates how modern waste infrastructure can deliver value, efficiency, and environmental benefit.”