Rory Hughes, engineer at IRR wins a UK Lifetime Achievement Award
UK Business Tech Award for IRR Engineer
Rory Hughes, Technical Director at IRR Waste 2 Energy, a pyrolysis and recycling engineer who has dedicated his entire career to managing waste streams around the world, has won a UK Lifetime Achievement Award.
Hughes scooped the award at the UK Business Tech Awards as the virtual ceremony on 25th November drew to a conclusion.
“What an amazing achievement for Rory and so well deserved for all the work and pioneering technologies that he has worked on including the projects at IRR Waste 2 Energy,” said Mark Pepper, CEO, Carlton Forest Group. “We are truly delighted for him and are so pleased that he is part of our team that is revolutionising the end-of-life tyre market in the UK and also the driving forward the test and research into other hard to treat and hard to recycle waste streams.”
Rory had been a self-employed recycling and waste consultant for over two decades and his work has taken him across the globe. Having achieved a Mechanical Engineering degree, Rory worked in hydraulics and other sectors before accepting a role with a company contracted by Dupont in the USA working on a project to recycle solvents. He spent 4 years in Germany, working on, and patenting a plastics to fuel technology, he then worked in both South Africa, and South America, on pyrolysis projects for tyres and rubber compounds. Working with IRR Waste 2 Energy is the culmination of many years work and research to develop a modular, scalable technology that can deliver a significant impact on hard to recycle waste, not just tyres, for both the public and private sector.
“Winning this award is fantastic and I am delighted that it shares the work that I, and the team, are doing with a wider audience highlighting how technology can change the face of recycling in the UK,” said Rory. “We look forward to ongoing success and to even greater market penetration as we work with other manufacturers to explore the options that pyrolysis presents to the CSR and added value revenue streams.”
Rory concluded; “As an engineer you can use your skills to literally engineer anything, and we knew that this technology could deliver so many positive impacts on waste recycling and energy from waste generation. Nothing should ever be thought of as waste; we just need to change its purpose and our determination as a team and true belief in this technology enabled us to overcome financial, technological and engineering challenges to bring the project to fruition.”
