The Best Waste Management Companies UK – 2022

Find the best waste management supplier for your business, with our reviews of the top 10 commercial waste disposal companies in the UK

Commercial waste management. While it’s far from the most glamorous topic around, it’s one that, pretty soon, your business will need to start taking seriously. Plus, with COVID-19 restrictions set to ease, we'll soon be returning to the office – and offices, as we know, need waste management!

Because, as your business’s bottom line grows, so too will its rubbish removal requirements. And, unless you plan on pinching your nostrils together, donning a pair of gloves, and handling it yourself, you’ll need to start thinking about outsourcing your waste management.

But there’s good news. Not only can outsourcing your commercial waste and recycling needs be simple and hassle-free, there are also plenty of providers to choose from.

After more than 20 hours of research – which took into account metrics such as user reviews, the breadth of services each supplier offers, customer support, and more – we’ve summarised our top 10 waste management companies in the UK. Read on to find out what they do, what they’re best at, and whether they’re still operating during the pandemic.

Plus, waste management may not be a be a glamorous topic – but it certainly doesn’t have to be a dull one. In addition to our reviews of the country’s top waste management suppliers, you’ll find out more about the industry’s big boys – a narrative that includes mergers, acquisitions, power struggles, and, of course, a good ol’ hostile takeover.

Ready to find the best waste management company for your business? Let’s explore.

The Top 10 Waste Management Suppliers in the UK

01 | WasteManaged

Best for the cheapest waste management rates

A distinctly local flavour, for one. Located in good old Newcastle-upon-Tyne, WasteManaged is astutely attuned to the needs of UK businesses.

All support you’ll receive is based in the UK, and WasteManaged even offers advice about how to remain legally compliant – helping you tiptoe the tightrope of the Landfill Directive, and navigate the country’s Hazardous Waste Regulations and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) laws without a second thought.

One more great thing about WasteManaged – and, indeed, the lion's share of all the UK's biggest and best waste management companies – is that all rates you receive will be fixed. 

You won't wonder how much you'll be paying each month, as WasteManaged have fixed pricing, allowing you to easily predict business costs. Think of it like a subscription you pay for.

Fancy giving our free quote-finding questionnaire a try?

It takes 30 seconds, and it’s how we match you with tailored waste management rates for your business. 

Simply select one of the buttons below to answer the first question, and start providing us with a few details about your requirements. When you’re done, we’ll match you with commercial waste management companies in the UK that meet your business’s needs. These suppliers will then be in touch with you directly, to offer quotes, advice, and rubbish disposal packages tailored to your business.

Easy!

02 | Biffa

Most dependable waste management company

What we like most about Biffa, though, is not only that it’s dependable. It’s that the company has managed to stay that way, even throughout a pandemic. Let us explain.

In line with the UK government’s recent guidance on how waste from COVID-19 testing sites should be disposed, Biffa has launched a LFD (lateral flow device) waste disposal service.

Designed to segregate any potentially biohazardous material from your business’s regular flow of waste, this service is a breath of fresh air. Not only does it allow you to continue providing LFD COVID-19 tests to your staff as they begin to return to the office, but it enables you to keep them safe, too.

Oh, and you can stay on the right side of the law, while you’re at it!

03 | Veolia

Best for its range of recycling and waste management services

The company is no stranger to business recycling, either. One thing we love about Veolia is ‘PROcycle’ – its clever, cost-effective solution for ‘difficult to recycle’ items. Here, we’re talking crisp packets, straws, sweet wrappers… essentially, all and any of the more problematic rubbish your business generates on a day-to-day basis.

And it’s not just office-based companies that can benefit. PROcycle also allows construction businesses to recycle traditionally awkward materials, such as hard hats and plastic goggles.

Instead of binning it, Veolia allows you to recycle this everyday refuse, meaning it won’t be sitting in a landfill (or on your conscience!) for hundreds of years to come.

Above all, Veolia’s PROcycle will help your business demonstrate its sustainability credentials to your clients and the public, while providing a positive example to your staff… not to mention sparing you the guilt trip the next time you open a bag of Walkers!

04 | FCC Environment

Best for customer support and account management

…because our research found that FCC Environment offers some of the finest customer care around.

As well as a dedicated Key Account Manager to look after your business, you’ll also benefit from a Contract Coordinator. Together, the two act as your central points of contact, handling everything from quality control to managing delivery – and working with you to hit your sustainability goals.

With FCC Environment’s experts cutting through the red tape and helping you decipher the finest of fine print, you can go back to doing what you do best – growing your business, not your rubbish pile!

05 | Mick George

Most highly rated UK waste management company

It’s strange – even though Mick George is comfortably one of the UK’s 20 biggest waste management companies, it doesn’t feel that way. Its down-to-earth, straightforward style manifests itself throughout the company – from the simplicity of Mick George’s website, to the professionalism and punctuality of its pickups.

Heck, even the company’s name suggests a personal, local touch!

Mick George exudes a remarkably transparent vibe, too. It produces monthly waste management reports and plans, providing an audit trail to demonstrate its commitment to landfill diversion.

It’s no surprise Mick George’s customers are big fans!

You're halfway through our list of the top waste management companies in the UK. Time to start comparing quotes?

Simply hit one of the buttons below to start our quick questionnaire. It takes just 30 seconds to do, and by telling us more about your business’ specific requirements, we can help ensure that you receive the best, most personalised waste disposal rates in the UK.

06 | Suez

Most flexible waste management service

Flexibility, too. In fact, that just happens to be our favourite feature of Suez’s – and it achieves this through a little number called ‘Suez Flex’.

‘Suez Flex’ is the company’s flexible, weight-based rubbish collection service. Rather than sticking to a rigid, ‘one size fits all’ approach, this service is designed to (you guessed it) flex with your business’ changing waste disposal needs.

When Suez’s drivers pick up your commercial waste, they’ll weigh it on the spot, so you’ll pay only for the waste you generate. Of course, there are monthly and service fees, just like the majority of other waste management companies charge. However, you can rest assured that these costs are not only competitive, but fixed, too – meaning they’re easy to budget for.

Suez is continuing to operate throughout COVID-19, and ‘Suez Flex’ is further proof of its pandemic-proof credentials.

07 | Viridor

Best for businesses new to waste management

Yep – Viridor will complete a free assessment of your business’s waste management needs, which it’ll then use to put together a bespoke package that’s fully tailored to you.

You’ll also be able to arrange additional, out-of-contract collections, should you need to – something that’ll come in handy when we’re out of lockdown, and business starts picking up again!

Another aspect of Viridor’s service that’ll endear it to the newbies is its customer service. As well as lauding Debbie – Viridor’s Area Sales Manager – the range of online reviews we found waxed lyrical about the company’s efficient, polite, and and friendly service.

08 | Augean

Best for hazardous waste management

But hazardous waste is a fairly broad term, so what’s the span of Augean’s waste management services, exactly?

As well as the usual stuff – general waste, recycling, industrial services – Augean offers UK businesses:

• Decommissioning
• Drilling and well abandonment
• Landfill and soil treatment
• Radioactive waste services

Augean is also continuing to maintain its high standard of service during the COVID-pandemic, which is a relief. Because, if there’s anything you don’t want to be doing during the outbreak of a deadly virus, it’s handling radioactive waste – or fishing around in an abandoned well!

09 | Renewi

Best green waste management company in the UK

Basically, Renewi helps you do your bit to reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover – which, as we know, are the four key tenets of the waste hierarchy (pictured).

Partner with Renewi, then, and you’ll not only be safe in the knowledge that you’re doing your bit to cut down on harmful CO2 emissions – your customers and clients will be, too.

So at the very least, it’s an excellent exercise in brand-building!

10 | Reconomy

Best for tailored, bespoke waste management services

Reconomical, indeed!

Next steps

As anyone that’s ever tried to do it themselves will attest to, commercial waste management is a tricky business.

You’ll need to juggle the separate concerns of legal and regulatory compliance, while ensuring that you’re aligning your business with long-term sustainability and environmental goals. On top of all this, you need your commercial waste management to be not only simple and hassle-free, but affordable, too.

The answer? Outsource it!

Of course, by now (if you’ve read all the way down to here, that is) you should already have a better idea of which supplier is right for you. But if you don’t (and it’s a long article, so you can be forgiven for skipping some parts!), then don’t fret – we have just the thing.

Simply provide us with a few details about your business’s commercial waste requirements. We’ll ask questions such as:

• Have you outsourced waste management before?
• Do you need a one-off collection, or an ongoing service?
• What type of business are you? Sole trader? Limited company?
• When do you need your waste collection to start?
• What’s your business’s postcode?

Once we have this, we’ll match you up to one or more suppliers that meet your business’s waste collection requirements. They’ll then be in touch with quotes – wait for it – completely tailored to your business’s needs.

It takes less than a minute, and it’s free – you just have to be based in the UK to be eligible.

The ‘Big Five’, explained: The UK’s largest waste management companies

You can’t talk about the UK’s best waste management companies without talking about the biggest. 

Here, then, is where commercial waste’s so-called ‘Big Five’ – Veolia, Biffa, Suez, Viridor, and FCC Environment – come in.

Combined, these colossal companies turn over close to five billion pound’s worth of revenue every year, servicing everything from the smallest of offices to more established, enterprise-level businesses.

Not only do these companies have what's more or less an oligopoly over the waste management needs of UK businesses, they’re also a source of entertainment in and of themselves.

Like the warring factions of HBO’s Game of Thrones, the ‘Big Five’ are in a constant state of political flux: acquiring new companies, jostling for position, and even – as Veolia’s attempted hostile takeover of Suez is currently demonstrating – attempting to absorb their closest rivals.

Take a look at how the ‘Big Five’ stack up against each other – as well as the rest of the UK’s top 20 waste management companies – in the infographic below.

Despite the daily drama, these companies are deadly serious when it comes to providing the best commercial waste disposal around. That’s why the ‘Big Five’ all make our list of the top 10 waste management services in the UK – because they’re good for business of all shapes, sizes, and scalability ambitions.

But we understand that the UK’s biggest waste management companies won’t be for everyone. And it’s true – sometimes, in all the corporate politics and profits, the ‘little guy’ can get forgotten about, and customer support, in particular, can slip.

So, if your commercial waste needs are still modest, and you’re after a company with a slightly more personal – if not all that expansive – focus, we can help.

Head to our guide to the best commercial waste management companies for small businesses. It’s got everything you need to compare and contrast suppliers, and settle on the company for you – and even includes a case against the ‘Big Five’!

FAQs

Why should I outsource my business’s waste collection?

The terrain of waste management is one peppered with legal landmines and regulatory booby traps. Between the Environmental Protection Act, the WEEE Directive, and the UK’s Hazardous Waste Regulations, managing your own commercial waste isn’t easy.

Outsourcing takes this pressure away. Why walk the tightrope of compliance, when a company can do it for you? Why spend precious time, fuel, and money driving your own waste to the tip?

Trust us, commercial waste management is a dirty job. Leave it to the experts!

What are the benefits of outsourcing waste management?

To answer this one, we chatted to Jodi Sanders, General Manager of Leicestershire-based fulfilment business PacWolf, for the inside scoop:

What’s the difference between a waste management broker and supplier?

Waste management suppliers are companies that provide waste collection and recycling services themselves. You hire them, and it’ll be trucks with their logos coming to pick up your rubbish.

A waste management broker is a company that has a network of different service providers. Rather than supply the waste management collection directly, they’ll outsource this to one of their partner companies. Think of them as a kind of  ‘middleman’.

Of course, there are positives and negatives to both approaches. Going directly to the supplier is often more straightforward, and has its benefits – particularly when it comes to dedicated customer support.

However, going with a broker tends to be the more affordable option. After all, brokers work with huge networks of both suppliers – meaning they can source you a variety of offers – as well as clients, which give them the bargaining power they need to score your business the cheapest deals.

How much does commercial waste management cost?

This depends entirely on… well, a range of factors.

How much you’ll pay hinges on which provider you choose, how large your business is – not to mention its legal status – plus the frequency and extent of the collections you require. It can be a guessing game.

That’s why we always recommend taking advantage of our free, quote-finding questionnaire.

It’s the fastest, cleanest, and most direct route to comparing – and receiving! – tailored waste management quotes, from the companies that can cater to your needs best.

How frequently will my rubbish be collected?

This is your decision, and you’ll have the option to set your commercial waste collection frequency before signing a contract.

Your pickups could be as infrequent as once per month, or as often as five per week – it’s completely up to you.

We’d recommend reading the small print carefully, though. Collection frequency can often be tough to re-negotiate further down the line, and many companies have temporarily suspended frequency flexibility here because of the pandemic.

It’s worth taking extra care to understand your chosen waste management company’s current policy in this area. You won’t regret it!

What is a waste carrier licence? Do I need one?

A waste carrier licence is a legal requirement for anyone who transports waste from place to place in the UK.

There’s good news, though. If you outsource this service to a third-party waste management company in the UK (as we’ve been recommending!) you do not need a waste carrier licence.