Going for Growth: Recycling expert ETM goes for growth

RECYCLING and rubbish expert ETM is the latest firm to declare an interest in the Going for Growth fund.

The company, which picked up an honour at the prestigious Bristol Post Business Awards in 2012, has seen rapid growth in recent years.

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And with more expansion plans on the way, the company is considering applying for grants under the Going for Growth campaign.

The campaign has been launched by the Bristol Post along with the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.

The aim is to share out £25 million among businesses in Bristol and the surrounding area with the aim of stimulating growth and re-igniting the stuttering economy.

Amy McCormack, who joined the family firm after graduating, said: "We are very interested in what the fund may have to offer and we have expressed an interest.

"Anything that can help in terms of funding in the current climate has to be looked at closely."

The aim is that the £25 million will be shared between 400 companies, creating or safeguarding 1,300 jobs in the process.

Firms have until the end of the month to apply. So far, more than 400 have expressed an interest in applying.

In many ways ETM is typical of the kind of firm which would be eligible.

Amy graduated in business management from Oxford Brookes University.

After spending two years with a management consultancy she joined the recycling firm which was set up by her father Eddie.

The company occupies a one-and-a-half-acre site in Ashton Vale on the southern side of Bristol where Mr McCormack spotted a gap in the market.

Amy said: "The whole point of this company is get zero landfill so we try to recycle as many materials as possible including plastic, wood, cardboard, polythene and hardcore.

"All the waste that comes to our transfer centre here is separated, with hand recyclers sorting out the wood, plastic and cardboard.

"It is put into bales and then sent off for recycling."

In its first year of trading, 28,000 tonnes of waste passed through ETM's materials recycling facility at Ashton Vale.

Last year, 91 per cent of all the waste brought there was redirected from landfill. As a result the business sits nicely alongside the aims of Bristol City Council which is looking to reduce the city's waste to zero.

Amy said: "The materials recycling facility was purpose built for us and is at the cutting edge of recycling technology. It includes some of the most efficient sorting methods available, such as the magnetic conveyor belts for scrap metal - this reduces the cost to the company to sort the waste which in turn reduces the cost to the customer.

"We are always looking at ways to expand the operation as demand for what we do grows."

The firm has started to provide small businesses in the Bristol area with recycling and waste-management services as more people opt for the greener option.

Amy said: "We are located on a main route into Bristol city centre and this can reduce travelling for a number of local businesses who previously had to go to the other side of the city for recycling facilities.

"The success of the firm is a good indication that it offers the right kind of services for its fast-growing customer base across the city.

"We have a portfolio of more than 100 firms from whom we take waste. Many of them come to us through recommendation of our existing clients."

Visit www.bristolpost.co.uk/GoingFor GrowthBiz for more details about the Going for Growth campaign.