Greenstar has consolidated its position as Ireland's biggest waste management group with the acquisition of Rainbow Refuse in Waterford and Dublin-based Bailey Waste Recycling for a combined consideration of €15.5 million.

Steve Cowman, Greenstar's chief executive, said the company would achieve turnover of €160-€175 million in the year to the end of March 2008.

This would compare with revenues of €135 million in the 12 months to the end of March this year.

"We've doubled the size of the business over the past three years and we now plan to double it again over the next three," Mr Cowman said.

"We're well on the road to doing that."

Mr Cowman said the company was also set to expand its operations to Northern Ireland.

Bailey Waste has a 70 per cent interest in a Lurgan-based company bearing its name.

Mr Cowman said it was likely to acquire this shareholding.

"We're looking at a couple of other opportunities there [Northern Ireland] as well," he added.

Bailey Waste has 12 per cent of the commercial paper recycling market here, handling 55,000 tonnes of waste for a number of leading companies, including Bank of Ireland, ESB, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Hewlett Packard.

Founded in 1940, Bailey Waste achieved turnover of €1.1 million in 2006, down slightly on the previous year.

Owned by the Bailey family, the company had accumulated profits of €8.1 million at the end of last year.

It is led by managing director Andrew Bailey, who will now lead Greenstar's recycling business here.

Greenstar said the Bailey deal would complement its Cork-based subsidiary Hannon Recycling. It acquired that company last year.

The company now has an 18 per cent share of the dry recycling market in the republic.

Rainbow Refuse, meanwhile, operates a domestic collection service in Waterford, handling 5,000 tonnes a year.

Its latest accounts show accumulated losses of €284,000.

Mr Cowman said the business would be integrated with Ormonde Waste, a major operator in the south east that Greenstar acquired in 2006.

Bailey Waste was a shareholder in Ormonde before the disposal of that business to Greenstar last year.

Greenstar, which is 88 per cent owned by NTR, has completed 13 acquisitions over the past eight years.

It completed a €200 million refinancing last year with a syndicate of banks led by AIB, giving it the scope to buy more waste assets.

Greenstar employs more than 565 staff, operates four landfills and has four recycling processing plants in the Republic.