The Best Waste Management Companies UK

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 | CheaperWaste
02 | Biffa
03 | Veolia
04 | FCC Environment
05 | Mick George

06 | Suez
07 | Viridor
08 | Augean
09 | Renewi
10 | Reconomy

01 | CheaperWaste

Best for the cheapest waste management rates

As a waste management broker – rather than supplier – you might be reasonably allowed to question why CheaperWaste sits at the summit of our list. After all, this is the best waste management companies, right? Not brokers?

Well, yes. But with our research telling us that CheaperWaste's service could well save you time, money, and sanity, we don't think the semantics are all that important. Plus, there’s that range of other benefits that CheaperWaste brings to the table, too…

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

All support you’ll receive is based in the UK, and CheaperWaste 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.

Trustpilot rating: 3.1/5 (3,987 reviews)
Services offered/waste types handled:	General waste, dry mixed recycling, glass, food, clinical, hazardous, confidential and shredding, washroom, skip hire, COVID-19 tests and PPE
Bin sizes available (l):	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes. As of the UK’s (third) national lockdown in January 2021, CheaperWaste is now also offering its customers the opportunity to decrease the frequency of their waste collection.

Lia CheaperWaste customer

2021-01-18

“[CheaperWaste customer support agent] Deborah was great at helping me decrease my collections due to the pandemic. Our shop had to close during lockdown, and no one was allowed to open it – it’s not considered essential travel, after all. This meant that we weren’t able to fill the bin with rubbish from our tradesmen – who are still able to work under lockdown rules.”

Deborah kindly helped me decrease the weekly collections to monthly ones, which has helped us a lot. [CheaperWaste] also credited any money taken over the last three weeks. Thank you, CheaperWaste – you are a great company, and customers are clearly your number one priority.”

✔ Pros:

An online interface provides you with 24/7 access to your account
The negotiating power of an 18,000-strong client base helps earn you the best deals
CheaperWaste’s bills split out the cost of each individual fee you’ve incurred, making accounting a breeze

X Cons:

Phone-based support is only available between 9am and 5:30pm on weekdays
It doesn’t boast the most reassuring customer reviews online

One more great thing about CheaperWaste – 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 completely bespoke.

You won't find much pricing information on this page, and the reason is that what you’ll pay depends on the providers you’re matched with, the amount of collections you require, and the type of commercial waste you need removing. There are no ‘one size fits all’ pricing plans with these suppliers, either – so you can be sure you’re getting the most appropriate (and most affordable!) rate for your growing business.

In that way, the pricing of the UK's waste management companies work in a similar fashion to our free quote-finding questionnaire. Fancy giving it 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!

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1. Do you already outsource your business's commercial waste? YES NO

02 | Biffa

Most dependable waste management company

98% service reliability. 95% of UK postcodes catered to. A customer base of 75,000 SMEs across the UK, and counting.

The statistics are in, and they rarely lie – Biffa is one of the most widely-used, reliable, and extensive waste management companies in the country.

So it’s no surprise that Biffa’s services comprise everything but the kitchen sink. Unplanned waste disposal? Check. Asbestos removal? Check. Everything in-between? Check! Plus, even if you don’t know what you need right now, Biffa has a service for you. It’s called Biffa Consult, and it’ll help your business choose and implement sustainable, long-term waste management solutions you can depend on.

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!

Trustpilot rating: 3.3/5 (1,911 reviews)
Services offered/waste types handled:	General waste, dry mixed recycling, single stream recycling, testing kits, food, hazardous, asbestos, skip hire, bin cleaning, unplanned waste removal
Bin sizes available (l):	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes. Biffa is operating essentially as normal, although staff aren’t able to enter premises to collect rubbish. Find more information with Biffa’s COVID-19 service updates.

✔ Pros:

Biffa is currently offering a fixed price guarantee until May 2022
Simple to switch to from your current waste management service
10% new customer discount when you sign up online

X Cons:

Expensive in the long run

03 | Veolia

Best for its range of recycling and waste management services

When a waste management company is the most lucrative in the UK, it’s fair to assume that it must be doing something right. So what’s the key to Veolia’s success?

A wide range of services, for one. You name the waste, Veolia can probably handle it – whether that’s COVID-19 tests or coffee cups.

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!

Trustpilot rating: 1.4/5 (211 reviews)
Services offered/waste types handled:	General waste, food, hazardous, dry mixed recycling, ‘difficult to recycle’ items, glass, wood, coffee cups, hazardous, confidential
Bin sizes available (l):	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes.

✔ Pros:

Also offers utilities, with waste, water, and energy supply all available
Accessible online interface and customer hub
Tom Crutchley

X Cons:

Veolia’s Trustpilot rating isn’t great as it stands, but there aren’t really enough reviews to get a clearer picture
Not the cheapest service on the market

04 | FCC Environment

Best for customer support and account management

Not to be confused with the FCC – the organisation responsible for regulating America’s radio waves – FCC Environment is firmly focussed on affairs on our side of the pond.

As one of the ‘Big Five’, though, you might be forgiven for assuming FCC Environment’s ability to provide dedicated, personal customer support has slipped over the years. But there, you’d be wrong…

…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!

Trustpilot rating: 2.9/5 (2 reviews)
Services offered/waste types handled:	General, hazardous, recycling, confidential, WEEE, bulky, washroom, clinical
Bin sizes available (l):	240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes.

✔ Pros:

Offers a range of skip sizes, as well as RORO (roll-on/roll-off) waste management options
Committed to sustainability

X Cons:

Poor (albeit limited) customer reviews online
Several customer complaints suggest that the company reschedules – or cancels – bin delivery at short notice

05 | Mick George

Most highly rated UK waste management company

Here at Expert Market, we always take customer reviews into account. Trouble is, a lot of waste management companies in the UK not only have bad reviews – they don’t have any reviews at all!

Not so with Mick George.

With a seriously impressive 4.6/5 Trustpilot rating, Mick George’s no-frills, no-nonsense approach is clearly going down a storm with its UK customer base.

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!

Trustpilot rating: 4.6/5 (2,381 reviews)
Services offered/waste types handled:	General, recycling, asbestos, ‘muck away’, hazardous, soil remediation and stabilisation
Bin sizes available (l)	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes.

✔ Pros:

Well-suited to the waste management needs of the construction industry
Excellent customer service
Scales with your business’s operations

X Cons:

Some online reviews suggest that Mick George’s service is overpriced

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.

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1. Do you already outsource your business's commercial waste? YES NO

06 | Suez

Most flexible waste management service

Suez (stylised ‘SUEZ’) is the UK’s third top earning waste management company. With commercial waste services spanning soil remediation, food waste, and confidential document disposal, we put Suez’s popularity down to its unfettered versatility.

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.

Trustpilot rating: 2.3/5 (19 reviews)
Services offered/waste types handled:	General, food, hazardous, recycling, WEEE, clinical, soil remediation, emergency, confidential
Bin sizes available (l):	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes.

✔ Pros:

Organised, punctual collections
Hassle-free setup
Friendly service

X Cons:

Watch out for its rolling contracts!

07 | Viridor

Best for businesses new to waste management

First time outsourcing your waste management? Exciting! But there’s work to do.

Namely, that’s a waste audit – every business’s first step towards managing their rubbish successfully. A waste audit involves getting to grips with the amount and type of commercial waste you produce. And guess what?

With Viridor, it’s free.

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.

Trustpilot rating: 3.4/5 (329 reviews)
Services offered/waste types handled:	General, confidential, construction, hazardous, liquid,
Bin sizes available (l):	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes. Viridor continues to post regular COVID-19-related service updates on its site.

✔ Pros:

Decent customer approval ratings online
Transparent, flexible approach
Huge range of waste disposal and recycling services on offer

X Cons:

Not the cheapest waste management service around

08 | Augean

Best for hazardous waste management

If your business deals in hazardous waste – that is, any refuse that could pose a threat to people or the environment – you’ll want to know you’ve got the right team backing you up.

And, with Augean, you’re in good company. It leads the sector not only in providing hazardous waste management services, but bringing them into the 21st century, too. As far as compliance-oriented, sustainability-focussed hazardous waste disposal specialists go, our research suggests that you won’t find one better than this.

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!

Trustpilot rating: None
Services offered/waste types handled:	General, recycling, hazardous
Bin sizes available (l):	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes, although adjustments have been made to how the company operates. Check out Augean’s coronavirus policy for more information.

✔ Pros:

Augean supplies HiPods – trademarked, durable, 1,100 litre containers for hazardous waste
Provides DGSA (Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser) support
Fully compliant with the UK’s various waste management laws and regulations

X Cons:

No customer reviews online… should we be worried?

09 | Renewi

Best green waste management company in the UK

It’s a fairly bold claim, isn’t it? “The best green waste management company in the UK”. Well, we’ve done the research to back it up, and Renewi has all the sustainability credentials to earn its crown.

Because Renewi doesn’t just offer waste management and recycling services. It’ll work with your business to help you reduce your waste output to begin with – stopping the production of non-recyclable rubbish at the source.

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!

Trustpilot rating: None
Services offered/waste types handled:	Glass, paper and card, and rubble recycling
Bin sizes available (l):	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes.

✔ Pros:

Well-suited to businesses looking to improve their green status
Renewi’s rubble recycling service makes it ideal for construction businesses

X Cons:

Doesn’t offer quite as wide a range of waste collection types and services as many of the other providers here do
No user-generated reviews available online

10 | Reconomy

Best for tailored, bespoke waste management services

After starting with CheaperWaste, it only seems right to bookend our list of the top 10 waste management companies in the UK with another broker – this time, it’s Reconomy.

Reconomy operates across a range of industries – construction, hospitality, transport, retail and wholesale, manufacturing – so it makes sense that the company rejects a ‘one size fits all’ approach to waste management. Rather, Reconomy will work in tandem with your business to audit your waste, assess your needs, and offer a solution – via its 1,000-strong supply chain partner network – that meets all your logistical (and budgetary) needs.

Reconomical, indeed!

Trustpilot rating: 2.8/5 (3 reviews)
Services offered/waste types handled:	General, single stream recycling, confidential, technical and hazardous,
Bin sizes available (l):	120, 240, 360, 660, 1,100
Operating during COVID-19?	Yes. Reconomy has put in place additional security measures to protect staff and customers during the pandemic, too. Check out Reconomy’s COVID-19 safe working policy for more.

✔ Pros:

Skip hire is also available
Affordable
Strong, UK-based customer support

X Cons:

Has some negative customer reviews online

Barrels and blocks of business recycling

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:

“PacWolf is a fulfilment specialist, so we work with a lot of packaging every day.

“In the past, we disposed of our waste in skips that would be ultimately tipped into landfill. In 2019, we made a conscious effort to find a company to deal with all of our waste in order to benefit the environment.

“In the end, Leicester-based Bakers were chosen for two reasons: one, for their family ethics, and two, for their passion for recycling.

“Over 90% of Bakers collected waste is recycled. The company not only helped us to drastically limit the use of landfill, but they’ve worked with us onsite to understand our needs – such as recommending what size bins we needed for each department. Now, we’re able to say that we recycle all of our plastic and cardboard waste.

“This is a massive bonus for us and our mission to help the natural world around us.”

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.