AN environmentally-friendly Ramsbottom company is poised to create new jobs with the opening of a key waste recycling unit.

ISM Waste Services Ltd has unveiled its new extended materials recycling facility at its Kenyon Street base.

The unit will be responsible for segregating and recycling waste collected from industrial and commercial customers.

Starting from small beginnings, ISM has operated in Ramsbottom since 1964 and today the company is one of the largest independent waste management businesses in the North West, operating 14 specialist waste collection vehicles.

This new development extends the company's capabilities to bring waste loads onto the site.

This allows items such as cardboard, wood, metal and plastics, to name but a few, to be separated and recycled, rather than the conventional disposal method of landfill.

Director Peter Allen said: "We recognise that the environmental reliance of landfill is no longer a sustainable option and that current and forthcoming European directives are set to force increasing amounts of waste away from this type of disposal." Commenting on the company's materials recycling project, he added: "This is a key factor in our business strategy to meet the future needs of waste producers who will be required to recycle their waste to comply with legal recovery obligations."

Legislation exists to encourage maximum re-use of waste materials and these include new rules on packaging, electronic, vehicle and construction wastes.

Targets have been set for businesses on the amount that is recycled and put back into the chain of utility.

And the landfill directive, via the EU, also sets targets for reductions or bans on certain types of waste from landfill sites, all of which require services and setting up of facilities to help the nation meet its targets.

ISM is a recent winner of an award from Bury Business Environment Association (BEA) for minimising its own environmental impact through vehicle fuel efficiency.

Mr Allen went on: "We can look at our customers' waste through a pair of recycling glasses and provide them with affordable, efficient and environmentally-sound solutions.

"We look forward to putting this facility to maximum use, helping to make major contributions to recycling in the area."

Performing the opening ceremony of ISM's new facility was Mr Dennis Taylor in his last engagement before retiring as Bury Council's chief executive.

Praising the business for its "excellent reputation within the waste management industry," he added: "I wish the company every success. They are indeed a role model that other organisations would do well to follow."