The surprising overhead cost you can cut by 30% NOW: The Hidden Cost of Waste

If the current pandemic has taught us one valuable business lesson, it’s the need to have cost effective practises in place.

Whether you work on a construction site and have rubble to dispose of, a restaurant and have food waste to bin, or in an office with confidential documents to safely destroy, waste disposal is something that every single business needs. However, when considering cutting back business overheads, waste collection can be an often overlooked area that can have a significant impact on a business’ outgoings.

New insight from waste management specialists, BusinessWaste.co.uk has found that changing waste contracts can save businesses up to 30% (around £250 per bin) when based on just 1 bin being collected per week.

Waste contracts typically last for 12 months, however many businesses rarely consider changing their suppliers, letting prices continue to increase year on year. With 5.9 million businesses in the UK*, the waste management company predicts that around 500,000 businesses could change contracts each month, but don’t, meaning a shocking amount of money is being spent in the UK every year on unnecessary business overheads.

Mark Hall, Waste Disposal Specialist at BusinessWaste.co.uk provides his expert insight into the top 3 things to consider when changing your waste management supplier.

1. Beware of weight limits on bins

“Weight limits are a positive thing, put in place to encourage companies to take a more pragmatic approach to how they deal with waste. By placing limits on the amount of waste a company can send to landfill, they encourage business to recycle and reuse material.

“However, some unethical suppliers have been known to make millions by overcharging. Make sure to familiarise yourself with the current waste limits for wheelie bins. You shouldn’t be being charged more than 18p extra per additional kilogram – if you are, you have the right to challenge your supplier.”

2. Don’t let yourself be charged for a Duty of Care certificate 

“Under current UK laws, businesses have a legal obligation to keep a Duty of Care Certificate, or Waste Transfer Note, that documents every load of waste that leaves the premises.

“Your waste management company should provide you with this entirely free of charge, however, this is not always the case. You should be very wary of any company that charges extra to provide a waste transfer note.”

3. Check the small print regarding your bin insurance

“Some companies will include a statutory fee for ‘bin insurance’. However, this is very rarely an actual insurance policy and can often be another sneaky method of increasing your overall fees.

“If your waste management company does include bin insurance as part of your invoice, don’t be afraid to query them over this and always ask to see the actual insurance policy documents.”

Mark comments: “It is estimated that businesses in the UK are responsible for generating 41.1 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste every year, meaning waste management services are in high demand.

“Unfortunately, this ‘seller’s market’ can mean that some suppliers are able to take advantage of businesses and charge over the odds. We have saved our 15,000 customers a total of around £3.75M due to our unique position as a broker, allowing us to go to market and make sure our customers are getting the best value for money possible.

“Naturally, administrative tasks such as changing waste services can fall to the bottom of the pile when there’s a company to be run and financial targets to hit, but correct disposal of commercial waste at a fair price is incredibly important for businesses to be financially and ethically conscious.

“Before signing a contract with a commercial waste disposal company, make sure to familiarise yourself with what you can expect your waste disposal solution to cover, what the must-haves from a disposal company are, and the hidden costs you need to be aware of.

“When making a final decision, make sure to switch to a disposal company whose ethics align with your own business and who have no hidden extras – something we pride ourselves on at BusinessWaste.co.uk