A WASTE management specialist has opened a new commercial recycling facility near Ringwood.

The first site for the TJ Group, which runs a fleet of nearly 100 vehicles, is at the Blashford sand and gravel quarry.

With a new staff of three, the facility focuses on the recycling of soils and hardcore, such as concrete, bricks and asphalt, with new plant machinery for separation processing.

John Gosling is the managing director of TJ, which has 3,000 clients from Bournemouth in the west to Brighton in the east to near Rugby in the East Midlands.

He said: "Our newly-leased recycling facility at Blashford Quarry means we can spread our geographical wings further into Dorset in the west and Wiltshire in the north, opening up new commercial opportunities as we continue to expand."

He added: "There is increasing demand for recycled aggregate from companies looking to reduce their carbon footprints, and that of their own clients, with Blashford Quarry ideally placed to service local demand."

Earlier this year the independent firm, with 140 staff, invested in £165,000 in new machinery which screens top soil to British standards for commercial use.

The portable trommel screener is located in Chichester.