A new investor in the business, Finance Yorkshire invested £1.25 million, with a second new investor, German businessman Lars Windhorst, and existing investors contributing the remaining £3.85 million.

The money will fund expansion at Sterecycle’s Rotherham plant, increasing its capacity from 100,000 tonnes of waste per annum to 175,000 tonnes by the third quarter of 2012.

Chief executive Tom Shields says the increase in capacity will take the company to ‘around break-even’.

Shields adds, ‘We’re planning for a public listing next year so that we can raise additional funds to grow the business further and develop more sites across the UK.’

Sterecycle uses ‘steam processing’ to treat household and trade waste, recovering recyclable materials and turning food and paper waste into a soil improver called Sterefibre, which is approved for non-agricultural applications and can also be used to generate clean power or produce biogas.

Finance Yorkshire is part-funded by the European Union and provides investments of between £15,000 and £2 million for businesses in the region.