Yorkshire Water is to form the UK's largest independent waste-management business by merging with a former rival, Waste Recycling Group.

And the marriage, involving YW's Global Environmental, will mean new jobs created in the district

The business is expected to mop up many of the waste management contracts, worth millions of pounds, being placed by local authorities, including Bradford.

The two firms currently concentrate in South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and East Anglia but the merged company, which will have a market value of £410 million, has earmarked West Yorkshire as one of its areas for growth.

The merger gives the new company, to be called the Waste Recycling Group, the chance to become one of the most formidable competitors in the marketplace.

It will be worth more than the UK's current largest independent waste management firm, Shanks & McEwan.

Global Environmental and Waste Recycling Group are enterprises of similar size. Global had a turnover of £47 million last year and employs 300 staff. Waste Recycling's turnover was £39 million and has a workforce of 160.

The merged firm's chief executive will be Chris Welsh, at present managing director of Yorkshire Water subsidiary Yorkshire Environmental Solutions.

Mr Welsh said today: "The merger presents an exciting opportunity to significantly expand the business and to be a leading player in the UK's waste management sector.

"At the same time it will also allow us to strengthen our operating capability and improve local customer services."

A spokesman said the merged firm was looking to pick up contracts with local authorities in West Yorkshire, including Bradford.

This work would lead to the creation of new jobs.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.