New government recycling policy opens up waste service opportunities for brokers

If you’re not already offering waste services to your customers, you may not be aware of how different commercial waste disposal is from domestic, and how changes to government policy can impact the demand for services. 

In this post, we’re going to take a look at: 

• What brokers (and businesses) need to know about waste disposal 
• The impact of waste recycling policy changes (and the opportunity it presents) 
• How we make it easier for Brokers to add waste services to portfolios 

Business waste disposal 

Not only do businesses generate larger volumes of waste than domestic households, but they also have to account for far more legislation. There is also more emphasis on recycling and waste reduction strategies, and businesses may face legal or financial incentives to manage waste responsibly.   

• Commercial waste often requires specialised collections and pickups based on the business needs 

• A duty of care certificate of waste transfer note (WTN) is required by businesses as proof that they dispose of their waste legally and responsibly 

• Businesses producing hazardous waste are required to register with the Environment Agency 

• It’s illegal to mix hazardous or POPs waste (waste with a high level of persistent organic pollutants) with either non-hazardous or another hazardous waste. 

As well as generating massively different volumes of waste depending on the size and type of business they are, the type of waste that is produced can also vary substantially across industries.   

For example, smaller, administrative or service-based businesses may only need to account for small amounts of general waste and mixed recycling. Whereas healthcare providers, early years educational settings, and manufacturing businesses are likely to have wider-ranging needs and quantities.  

Waste classification 

Depending on the business type (and sometimes location) that you work with, different types of waste may require the use of specific bags and container types – all of which we can provide additional information on.

• General/residual waste – any light, compactable rubbish that cannot be recycled (such as clingfilm, wrappers and wet wipes) 

• Mixed recycling – paper, cereal boxes, cans, magazines/newspaper, plastic bottles/containers – all needs to be clean and dry without contamination 

• Cardboard – any dry, loose, clean cardboard 

• Food – any loose food waste, packaged food waste, leftovers, etc 

• Glass – clean, empty glass bottles and jars (excluding heavy-duty glass such as windows or mirrors)  

• Personal/washroom waste – feminine hygiene products, nappies 

• Confidential waste – sensitive documents and information 

• Contaminated waste (offensive/hazardous clinical waste) – anything contaminated with bodily fluids, or other blood-contaminated materials such as swabs and wound dressings, sharps or medicine. 

 Technical guidance on waste classifications and how to complete a waste transfer note is available on the gov.uk website. 

Seize the opportunity created by recycling reforms  

Pretty much every brick-and-mortar business out there creates waste – be that as a byproduct of operations, or simply the day-to-day consumption and discarding of residual waste items, food, packaging and personal hygiene products. 

With so much legislation to adhere to, it’s no surprise that businesses often look to get advice from a specialist waste contractor, whether or not the waste they produce is hazardous. This need is becoming even more apparent as changes to the country’s recycling policy – and the knock-on impact – start to come into effect. 

As we’ve already discussed, unlike domestic waste, it’s removal and correct disposal, isn’t something that businesses can take for granted – especially as waste service provisions that may previously have been managed by a local authority are starting to be withdrawn. 

In Dudley, for example, it was estimated that 30 per cent of businesses would have to contract a new food waste service following the council’s decision to withdrawing their commercial waste collection service in response to waste recycling policy updates.  

“Simpler Recycling” initiative 

 As part of the UK government’s commitment to moving towards a zero waste, circular economy, Simpler Recycling aims to: 

“ensure there is more recycled material in the products we buy, and that high quality recycled material can be sourced domestically, enabling packaging circularity in the UK.”

 These policy reforms mean businesses will have a legal duty to present waste separately for collection.