ECO-Option was started by founder, owner and Managing Director Leo PJ Nevels in 1994 after completing 6 years of Chemical Engineering at Delft Technical University.

 

Initially focussed on metal recovery from photographic, electronic and allied industries, the Company operated for many years from a site in Market Harborough and steadily grew in size.

 

Waste waters from all its metal recovery operations were disposed off via external contractors. Predominantly due to the ammonia present in these effluents, disposal costs increased year upon year and in 2001 the Company began work to remove and recover the ammonia from its effluents. The production of ammonium sulphate for use in liquid fertiliser had started.

 

As waste producers ranging from small SME’s to blue chip majors as well as other waste management companies struggled with ammonia bearing effluents, they increasingly turned to ECO-Option for assistance and the recycling of ammonia compounds expanded quickly. In order to process these rising amounts of ammonia bearing compounds, the use of spent & by-product sulphuric acid also increased quickly.

 

In 2007, the Market Harbobough site had become a limiting factor in the Companies development due its limited size and no room for expansion. The search for a new premises started and quickly a candidate in the form of Lostock Works in Northwich was identified. Planning permission and the first Environmental Permit were granted for an integrated metal recovery and fertiliser production plant. Construction began at the end 2009 after a momentary pause during the start of the financial crisis of 2008.

 

Since the re-location of its production activity to Lostock Works in 2010, the processing of ammonia and spent sulphuric acid resources dramatically increased due to a combination of factors. The sudden failure of a spent sulphuric acid recycler in Belgium lead to a significant shortage of treatment capacity for concentrated acid in the UK and Europe. In addition, availability of liquid by-product ammonium sulphate sharply reduced with the closure of the only major UK production plant.