Business recycling group CIRQLR is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert (“Rob”) Drewitt as the new General Manager for Cox Group, the Surrey and Sussex operator at the heart of CIRQLR’s Southern Division.
Rob joins Cox Group as its newly created General Manager, from Biffa, the UK waste and recycling company, where for the previous two years he had been a depot manager for its sites that took in operations south of the M25 down to coast.
Rob brings to CIRQLR 16 years of team leadership to its newly created Southern Division. He is tasked with enabling the best in class from the people he manages in their delivery of mission critical infrastructure and related vehicle fleet and support services to help customers meet their recycling and waste management needs. Rob’s arrival coincides with CIRQLR’s deepening of its recycling services offerings from one of its key up-scaled regional operators Cox Group, in response to growing customer demand stretching along a belt of Southern England south of the M25 from the M3 to the M20 corridors across Surrey, Sussex and into Kent.
The deepening of CIRQLR’s management is part of CIRQLR Chief Operating Officer Gareth Lewis’ strategic drive for constant improvement in the delivery of recycling services and upskilling of its staff as the group grows and integrates. CIRQLR, backed by iCON Infrastructure continues to expand across England.
Rob’s arrival within the CIRQLR group of regional recycling operations reunites a near decade of high-level management teamwork forged with the group’s South Division’s managing director, Katie Treacy, and the division’s finance director Catherine Parkinson.
My job is made that much easier when you have someone like Gareth who just gets flight paths, how to inspire people in their roles and give them the freedom and confidence to bring across working methods from other sectors provided they challenge us all at CIRQLR and all its operations including Cox Group go to a new level. Knowing my long-time mentors Katie and Catherine had moved over to be in the driving seat here was always going to be a big tick of confidence for CIRQLR’s vision. We are already motoring.”
Gareth Lewis, Chief Operating Officer of CIRQLR, said: “Rob’s arrival is great for us all. Doing more and working smarter for our customers works when we have smart people on board as managers to draw the best out of people and all the infrastructure we manage and in Rob, we have a smart, self-motivated inspirer for our Southern Division. We are delighted to have been able to reform the dynamic trio of Katie, Catherine and Rob under the CIRQLR umbrella and we look forward to many more like-minded enablers of change coming on board. We really do give waste a second life and we don’t waste our customers’ time getting there.”
Rob has a grounding in cutting-edge logistics management grounded from an initial seven-year career in the RAF first at RAF Odiham then RAF Brize Norton. There as senior airman he ensured rapid and efficient deployment of complex defence capability through strategic oversight and real time delivery of key vehicle and fuel supply lines. Rob transferred those logistics management skills to the private sector with seven years at North Air (Aviation Into-Plane Fuel Services) in Gatwick, responsible for delivering an on-time in-full approach to the delivery of mobile fuel supplies for all aircraft using Britain’s second largest commercial airport
Rob worked most recently alongside Katie at Biffa where she was previously their South-East regional manager. Previously they all spent five years together at North Air where Rob delivered on Katie’s strategic vision for that logistics firm, working also with Catherine, who prior to joining CIRQLR, was North Air’s Finance Director (Head of Finance), responsible for alignment between financial strategy and broader business objectives. That teamwork is being replicated at CIRQLR.
Notes to editors
CIRQLR, Communications Contact : James Rossiter, 07985 117887, james@jdrconsultants.co.uk
CIRQLR’s Journey CIRQLR, backed by iCON Infrastructre, has successfully undertaken a three-year buy and build journey to create one of the leading people-led business recycling organisations across the East and South of England, underpinned by a depth and breadth of local knowledge serving commercial and industrial customers.
Whilst undergoing a period of further integration and investment to modernise some of the group’s recycling infrastructure and harness greater synergies using cutting edge data analytics, CIRQLR continues to expand its operational reach within CIRQLR’s chosen geographies.
With a robust balance sheet, strong cash-flow and secure revenue streams, this is a unique time for growth and development at CIRQLR. Government is making good on its commitments since coming to power two years ago and is now pulling all the regulatory levers it can to create a more circular economy over the years ahead.
Integration of internal infrastructure across CIRQLR’s Southern Division will benefit all the customers of Cox, Chambers and Wilrose Environmental across Surrey, Sussex and more broadly from central London down to the coast and westwards along the M4 to M3 corridors.
CIRQLR continues to grow its base of skilled people, most recently announciing CIRQLR strengthens Southern Division leadership with two senior hires
At CIRQLR we help all manner of organisations, large or small, achieve a shared mission to “give waste a second life.” We reduce waste, boost recycling rates and extract greater resource value from the materials our customers consume and dispose of. There is excellence in all we do. CIRQLR’s Journey
CIRQLR’s mission of giving waste a second life is firmly on track for all the 16,000 commercial and industrial customers we support
As a group we are expanding our reach across the UK and deepen our processing capacity, meaning CIRQLR can now double the recycling materials it handles each year on behalf of customers regionally and nationally from the current 600,000 tonnes to over one million tonnes of materials.
CIRQLR today has 19 recycling facilities and is poised to invest in more infrastructure and over time double its current total of over 600 staff.
With Government pulling all the right regulatory levers to usher in a more circular economy, CIRQLR is primed to assist businesses across industry sectors who approach us every week for help in improving their sustainability goals.
Nine leading regional business recycling and waste management operators have joined CIRQLR in the three years since its formation, backed by iCON Infrastructure LLP (“iCON”), and further expansion continues, providing market-leading coverage to the whole of the UK from its strong base across the East, South and Midlands areas of England.
CIRQLR’s network of integrated subsidiaries by acquisition date:
SWS joined 26/9/25; Chambers Waste Management joined 31/3/25, Cox Group joined 01/07/23, KP Waste including Eco joined 31/10/24 Select joined 31/10/24, Ellgia including Bakers joined 19/04/24, Wilrose joined 01/04/24, Castle Environmental joined 24/02/23 CIRQLR’s Network
Better data management is at the heart of CIRQLR’s ongoing growth and integration as we continue to listen to customers and address their resource management needs as we progress into the next quartile of this century.
CIRQLR is focused on increasing recycling for business customers and helping the UK secure its materials supply chain. CIRQLR is supported by funds exclusively advised by iCON Infrastructure LLP. iCON is an award-winning, independent investment firm that makes long-term investments in high-quality infrastructure businesses across Europe and North America. iCON Infrastructure LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
By giving waste a second life, CIRQLR will reduce the economy’s over-reliance on imports, stabilise material supply and create the green jobs we all need. Our people are proud to do the right thing, helping business customers reduce waste sent to landfill with solutions that care for the environment.
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