£150m turnover, 600,000 tonnes of materials, 19 recycling facilities across England “Buy and build” strategy delivering after completing 8th acquisition in 2 years
CIRQLR has, through its acquisitions, brought together an integrated network of regional recycling operators covering the East of England from the South-Coast to the Humber.
Chambers Waste Management which covers Surrey, became the latest leading regional recycling firm to join CIRQLR in a deal which completed on 31 March 2025. The Chambers acquisition further strengths CIRQLR’s coverage in the South-East and Home Counties with Southern regional customers also able to turn to CIRQLR’s sister recycling brands including Wilrose and Cox Skips/The Recycling Partnership.
CIRQLR now has coverage from the Humber down across East of England and East Anglia via Ellgia, north and central London via KP Waste and Eco Waste, and all subsidiaries benefit from the national reach of CIRQLR’s hazardous waste subsidiary, Castle Environmental.
Led by industry veteran David Palmer-Jones OBE and supported by funds exclusively advised by iCON Infrastructure LLP, CIRQLR has quickly established itself as scale player in the commercial and industrial waste sector in just two years, and now serves over 15,000 customers, handling 600,000 tonnes of recycling materials every year with annualised turnover of £150m.
CIRQLR is investing for growth through a combination of further bolt on acquisitions, capital investment in new infrastructure and developing its people in response to new Government recycling regulation. CIRQLR today has 19 recycling facilities and is poised to invest in more infrastructure and over time double its current 600 staff.
CIRQLR is focused on increasing recycling for business customers and helping the UK secure its materials supply chain.
David Palmer-Jones, CEO of CIRQLR, said:
“We have rapidly built CIRQLR GROUP into a significant player in the commercial recycling market and our growth journey has only just begun. A generational step change in how we manage business waste is underway, supported by the implementation of positive regulatory changes over the next five years.
In anticipation of these changes CIRQLR has rapidly formed one of the country’s leading business recycling groups. CIRQLR is supported by funds exclusively advised by iCON Infrastructure LLP (“iCON”). iCON is an award-winning, independent investment firm that makes long-term investments in high-quality infrastructure businesses across Europe and North America.
CIRQLR is now ready to fulfil its mission of “giving waste a second life” and deliver a more circular economy for UK businesses.
With a government now willing to put into action the clarity and stability of regulation needed to stimulate investment and growth in recycling, there is scope to further develop CIRQLR as a significant shaper of the commercial and industrial markets.”
Building on strong regional brands with a combined 200 years of trading CIRQLR is ready to help businesses of all sizes, across all industry sectors, adapt to the raft of regulatory reforms underway that will fundamentally alter the way we all handle our waste materials.
CIRQLR’s longer ambition is to continue its growth, by doubling in revenue, increasing its geographical coverage, investing in new and existing facilities and developing its current 600 employees, all whilst remaining true to a unifying culture of excellent customer service reinforced by our powerful local brands.
CIRQLR aims to leverage the opportunity of a generational step change in how we manage business waste.
This April saw the introduction of Simpler Recycling rules that obliges greater separation of recycling materials on business premises. Taken together with introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes and the creation of nationwide Deposit Return Schemes over the next couple of years, there will be a marked increase in the volume and quality materials captured back into the supply chain.
The use of shared technology and data collation of recycling patterns and materials across the group has helped integrate and scale up CIRQLR’s local recycling businesses whilst also deepening and broadening their own established local relationships.
CIRQLR, Communications Contact
James Rossiter 07985117887; james@jdrconsultants.co.uk
Notes to editors
CIRQLR
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 network of integrated subsidiaries by acquisition date:
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
About David Palmer-Jones, CEO of CIRQLR Group.
Founded CIRQLR in late 2022. Group Senior Vice President of SUEZ Europe, 2019-2022, managing 11 countries and 3.6bn turnover. CEO of SUEZ UK, 2008-2019, growth from £450m to a £1bn turnover business and reduction of landfilling from 85% to 5%. David is a former chair of UK trade body the Environmental Services Association and European equivalent FEAD, former non-executive at WRAP, the DEFRA sponsored organisation to promote UK recycling. CIRQLR’s People
The waste and recycling market Regulatory News
The U.K. produces around 191 million tonnes of waste each year, 163 million tonnes from England alone.
Greatest proportion of waste arising comes from the commercial, industrial and construction sectors. In 2020
UK generated 40.4 million tonnes of commercial and industrial (C&I) waste, of which 33.7 million tonnes (83%) was generated in England. The latest estimates for England only, indicate that C&I waste generation was around 33.6 million tonnes in 2022. UK statistics on waste – GOV.UK
Recycling rates across the board have stagnated for the past five years, with the municipal sectors declining from a peak in 2017 of 42.5% in the UK and 45.2% in England, to 44.1% in the UK and 43.4% in England by 2022. With lack of implementation of environmental regulation over the past decade, the rates of recycling and recovery of materials rates have stagnated and investment into domestic modern recycling infrastructure has been stifled.
The UK has continued to rely in part on exports to manage the shortfall for waste and recycling materials treatment.
Government policy drivers are now switched towards greater levels of materials recovery, onshoring of recycling and reprocessing production. 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. Find out more Solutions
CIRQLR is supported by funds exclusively advised by iCON Infrastructure LLP, the award-winning independent infrastructure 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.
