The Changing Waste Industry – Why We Feel It’s Important to Keep You Informed

We wanted to take a moment to communicate with our customers about some of the significant changes currently taking place within the waste industry.

With the increased political and regulatory focus on tackling waste crime, including the push to support the Environment Agency in cracking down on illegal waste activity, we are already seeing the effects filtering through into legitimate waste operations. And, importantly, we believe this is only the beginning. As enforcement increases, waste that may previously have been handled through illegal or non-compliant routes is being pushed back into the legitimate waste industry. That is absolutely the right direction for the industry. Nobody wants to see waste being fly-tipped, illegally stored, buried, burned or passed through operators who are not complying with the regulations. Legitimate waste businesses have a responsibility to ensure that waste is handled, processed and disposed of correctly, and we fully support the drive to make the industry more compliant. However, there is another side to the changes which we feel is important for our customers to understand.

The capacity simply isn’t there yet.

When new regulations and enforcement measures are introduced, the country needs sufficient legitimate processing and disposal capacity to deal with the additional waste entering the compliant market. Unfortunately, the regulatory changes do not automatically create additional processors, treatment facilities or outlets. We are therefore seeing a knock-on effect throughout the industry. Waste is having to travel further to find legitimate processing and disposal outlets, resulting in additional haulage costs, increased handling costs and higher disposal rates across a number of waste streams. This is something we are experiencing first-hand. Some of the local outlets we have historically worked with are having to increase their prices because their own disposal routes and operating costs have changed. In turn, we are having to look further afield and establish relationships with processors and outlets further away from our facility.That additional distance comes at a cost.

More miles. More fuel. More haulage. More handling. Ultimately, a higher cost per tonne.

Compliance isn’t optional

For us, remaining compliant is fundamental to the future of our business, and yours! We have invested heavily in ensuring that our operation continues to meet the requirements placed upon legitimate waste businesses, because ultimately if we don’t remain compliant, we don’t have a business. We have seen a significant number of smaller skip hire and waste operations disappear from the market over the last 12 months, with the changing regulatory and operating environment proving increasingly difficult for some businesses to sustain.

Our priority is to ensure that we are not one of them. We want to continue operating, continue providing a legitimate waste management service to our customers and continue supporting the many businesses and waste carriers that rely on us.That means we have to take compliance seriously, even when doing so comes with additional costs and operational challenges. We operate a mixed waste processing facility and work with a large network of waste carriers and businesses. Because of this, we feel we have a responsibility to share what we are seeing within the industry rather than simply passing on increased costs without explanation. We also believe that our customers have an important part to play in making the industry more compliant. By understanding where your waste is going, using legitimate waste operators and ensuring that waste is correctly described and segregated, you are helping to reduce the demand for illegal disposal routes. Ultimately, this helps to tackle waste crime, reduce fly-tipping and ensure that waste is dealt with properly.

We support the direction the industry is heading in. We simply believe that customers should understand the realities of implementing these changes, particularly the pressure this is putting on the limited legitimate processing capacity currently available within the UK.

This is not something that is going to disappear overnight, and we expect the waste industry to continue changing over the coming months and years.

We will continue to keep you informed as we see further changes within the market and, wherever possible, explain how those changes may affect the services and waste streams we provide. Thank you for your continued support and for playing your part in helping us operate a more compliant and responsible waste industry.