Business recycling group CIRQLR, backed by leading infrastructure fund iCON Infrastructure (“iCON”), is pleased to announce the appointment of a newly created Southern Division managing director, Katie Treacy, and a new finance director for that Division, Catherine Parkinson.
Together Katie and Catherine bring to CIRQLR a combined 40 years of hands-on customer-focused organisational, can-do experience. Their arrival supports the ongoing delivery of a full range of highly skilled, people-led recycling and waste management solutions for often complex, multi-site operational needs.
Katie Treacy has joined CIRQLR from Biffa, the UK waste and recycling company, where for three years she had been their South-East Regional General manager, with strategic oversight and delivery responsibility for both collections and transfer stations, leading around 300 employees.
Katie Treacy, Managing Director, CIRQLR Southern Division, said:
“CIRQLR and its experienced teams across our leading Southern operations, from Chambers, Cox Group to Wilrose Environmental, share ambitions that are fully aligned with my own values and goals: to continually challenge ourselves and strive to be the very best for our customers and colleagues.
As we scale up, we remain committed to our strong local and regional focus and our deep understanding of client needs. We continue to expand our recycling capabilities and adapt to an increasingly complex and evolving regulatory landscape.
Doing what we say we will do, and when we say we will do it, matters to all our customers. From our vehicle operatives through to operational heads and sales teams, consistency of service is vital; whether our customers are national, regional, or local, because every one of their customers is critical to their success.”
Catherine Parkinson, Finance Director, CIRQLR Southern Division, said:
“I love the dynamism of CIRQLR’s staff, the range of recycling services we offer and the potential to take another step up, working collaboratively on the efficient delivery of critical infrastructure to benefit our customers.
Katie and I look forward to bringing to CIRQLR our cutting-edge expertise in vehicle fleet management, service provision, people leadership, and running a successful business, along with our commitment to on-time, in-full (OTIF), distribution services.”
David Palmer-Jones OBE, Chief Executive Officer of CIRQLR, said:
“These are exciting times for CIRQLR to recruit the best in class talent from the recycling and related infrastructure and logistics customer-facing industries. Welcome aboard Katie and Catherine to the vision we share with customers – giving waste a second life!
Working alongside our COO Gareth Lewis, our enhanced Southern Division offers a backbone of support to all our locally based people who collectively bring decades of experience in recycling and waste services across our regional branded operations.”
More about Katie Treacy and Catherine Parkinson
Prior to Biffa, Katie Treacy was for five years until 2023 Commercial Operations Manager at North Air (Aviation Into-Plane Fuel Services), leading operations at Gatwick and Heathrow airports and driving the transformation of operational agreements to deliver a more customer-centric approach while supporting sustainable profitability.
Katie spent the first 12 years in warehouse logistics and national distribution of goods for wholesale and major branded retailers, initially in the ceramics division of Saint Gobain (2005-14) then fulfilment e commerce for International Logistics Group (2014-17). Prior to her time with Biffa (2023-26), and after North Air (2018-2023), Katie was general manager at TR Fastenings, the UK steel bolts-to-couplings manufacturer which supplied both large infrastructure projects and national retailers.
Catherine Parkinson was at North Air (Aviation Into-Plane Fuel Services) from 2016 to 2026. She led the evaluation and coordination of major capital investments, including the procurement and management of a fleet of over 100 vehicles, and maintained full financial oversight of critical fuel supply operations serving commercial aircraft across up to 20 UK airports. During her time at North Air, Catherine also developed innovative financing solutions in partnership with Airport customers, enabling the timely delivery of key infrastructure upgrades while supporting operational efficiency and long-term profitability.
A qualified ACCA accountant, Catherine Parkinson’s initial career was in financial services, chiefly with Equinti (2011-16) where, as finance business partner, she was tasked with improving operational efficiency, compliance and customer-focused communication for its range of complex pensions and retirement management platforms and providers.
Notes to editors
CIRQLR, Communications Contact : James Rossiter, 07985 117887, james@jdrconsultants.co.uk
CIRQLR’s Journey
CIRQLR, backed by iCON, 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.
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 for all the 16,000 commercial and industrial customers we support is firmly on track.
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.
