The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has cleared waste and recycling firm Thorntons Recycling’s plan to buy the company that controls The City Bin Co.

The deal will, however, be subject to a number of conditions to address competition concerns.

Thornton Recycling’s parent company Padraig Thornton Waste Disposal Limited plans to acquire Carducci Holdings DAC, which controls The City Bin Co.

Thorntons Recycling is a commercial and residential waste and recycling business, operating mainly in Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

The City Bin Co provides of waste-collection services to domestic and commercial customers in Galway and Dublin.

Competition concerns

After a full investigation, the competition watchdog identified potential competition concerns about the effects of the deal on some households in County Dublin, where Thorntons Recycling and The City Bin Co are both active.

It has now determined that the proposed acquisition will not substantially lessen competition, after Thorntons made a number of binding commitments.

These include a commitment to divest certain numbers of domestic-waste customers in the areas serviced by both Thorntons Recycling and The City Bin Co to a buyer who will continue to provide these services to customers.

The purchaser will be subject to the CCPC’s approval, and an independent monitoring trustee is to be appointed to ensure compliance with these commitments.

Economic regulator

The competition body says that waste-collection market has “unique characteristics” that encourage consolidation.

“Without intervention, this means consumers may have little or no power to influence the behaviour of operators in this market by, for example, switching,” it adds.

The CCPC says that, while it acts within its powers to ensure that consumers continue to have access to a choice of providers, it believes that the market needs an economic regulator with responsibilities that would include market design.