Wheelie bin strike looms in Laois as Bord na Móna confirms sale

Laois households and businesses face the prospect of disruption to wheelie bin collections in the wake of confirmation that one of Ireland's biggest waste companies is to be sold in a deal that could represent a significant lost to taxpayers.

Trade union Siptu has confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that its members who work for Bord na Móna Recycling employees have been informed that the wheelie bin part of the business is to be disposed of by Bord na Móna.

A statement from the parent company, which is owned by taxpayers, confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live, that it had reached a deal sell to KWD Recycling which is based in Co Kerry.

It had been previously been reported that the waste and recycling business would be sold by the semi-state company at a price that would represent a loss in the order of millions of euro to the taxpayer.

Workers have been told that this decision was "not taken lightly" and reflects the need for greater scale and resources in the recycling business to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and employment.

Staff have been told that Bord na Móna Recycling Limited will no longer be a part of the Bord na Móna group if the sale goes ahead but there will be no change in the employing entity.

“You will continue to be employed by Bord na Móna Recycling Limited and employees’ contractual terms and conditions of employment will not change on handover,” it said.

Staff were told that Bord na Móna Recycling would continue to provide services for all its household and business customers pending completion of the transaction which would be subject to approval from the Consumer and Competition Protection Commission and the minister.

Workers received the news in the same week as many Siptu members met in Portlaoise to discuss what steps they would take if the deal to sell Bord na Móna decided to sell.  Workers decided on February 6 at the Laois meeting that they would ballot for industrial action if ownership changed.

Responding to the latest development, Siptu divisional organiser Adrian Kane told the Irish Independent that "members are very angry". He said there would be an emergency meeting of shop stewards on Monday evening. 

Siptu has already demanded that the government block the sale of the last publicly-owned company in the wast business.

“The domestic waste collection sector is like the wild west. Report after report is calling for more regulation, state investment and oversight. We cannot have a repeat of the Eircom debacle which put Ireland’s telecommunications sector behind the global competition for decades. The privatisation of Bord na Móna Recycling is bad for workers, the environment and customers. It will be opposed strongly by our members,” said SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Adrian Kane. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Picture of an AES truck which would later become Bord na Móna Recycling.

Bord na Móna confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that an agreement to sell Bord na Móna Recycling to Irish recycling provider KWD Recycling, subject to regulatory approval.

"The transaction follows a strategic review conducted by Bord na Móna of its recycling business which concluded that a sale would enable the business to achieve the scale and efficiency required for sustained growth, profitability and employment.

"The sale also aligns with Bord na Móna’s strategic focus as a renewable energy business committed to helping Ireland achieve its green energy target by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

"The sale transaction, if approved, will enable KWD Recycling, a leading waste collection, recycling and recovery operator in the southwest of Ireland, to expand its offering across the country and provide services to more households and businesses.

"The recycling business will no longer be part of the Bord na Móna group if regulatory approval is received. All employees will continue to work for the recycling business with no change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment on handover.

"Bord na Móna Recycling will continue to provide services as usual for its household and business customers pending regulatory approval of the transaction.

"The terms and value of the deal are confidential," said the statement.

It emerged in November 2024 that KWD Recycling was the preferred bidder to buy at a price of €55 m after the semi-state company hired PWC to find a buyer for its waste collection, recycling and landfill operations.

Bord na Móna completed a €61 m purchase of waste management company Advanced Environmental Solutions (Ireland) in 2007. It was reported at the time that the acquisition of part of Bord na Móna's strategy of diversification into waste management and power generation.

A major rebranding exercise was carried out in 2021 when the waste business was aligned closely to the Bord na Móna brand by binning the name AES in favour of Bord na Móna Recycling.

Thousands of customers in Laois and other counties were written to at the time. 

"Bord na Móna is a well-established name in Ireland. Soon the Bord na Móna name will begin to become synonymous with climate solutions, due to the work across renewable energy, carbon storage, biodiversity, conservation and waste management," said the letter.

Bord na Móna has planning permission for a bio-gas plant in Portlaoise that would convert household and commercial organic waste into gas and fertiliser.