Business waste disposal: What’s the Cost?
What makes up your business waste disposal costs? What factors affect the amount you pay? As an unavoidable expense to your business, waste affects your bottom line. In this article, we look at the different elements influencing your business waste bills.
The UK creates in the region of 40 million tons of waste each year and about a quarter of that is created by businesses. That is a lot of rubbish and, considering these business waste statistics, it is worth considering that around 4% of your business’s turnover will be spent on disposing of your business waste.
What makes up your total business waste disposal costs?
Your business’s waste disposal costs can vary from hundreds to thousands of pounds annually, depending on a number of factors. These include:
THE LOCATION OF YOUR BUSINESS
Location, location, location. It matters to your commercial waste disposal costs. Big cities tend to have more expensive waste disposal costs. If your business is in London, it could also have to pay congestion charges as part of its disposal costs. On the other end of the spectrum, more remote locations are also expensive for the logistical concerns around time and cost of waste collection in these areas, which are often far from waste transfer stations. This is where it pays to be somewhere in the middle. Saving tip: work with waste management companies which have a far-reaching network and service across the country. This tends to make a difference to the operational costs of servicing fewer central locations.
THE TYPE OF WASTE YOUR BUSINESS GENERATES
Regulations around commercial waste disposal are predicated on the protection of human health and the environment. This means that, the more hazardous the waste, the higher the cost associated with the transportation and handling of this waste. Recyclable materials have significantly lower disposal costs – around 50% lower – so, if your business regularly generates hazardous waste, you can expect to have higher waste management bills.
THE AMOUNT OF WASTE YOU GENERATE
Quite simply, the more waste you produce, the more it will cost waste disposal companies to remove it – and so the higher the expense. This is one of the central reasons why strategising around how to reduce business waste can have a marked effect on the money you spend on its disposal.
Partner with Smarter Business to optimise your business waste disposal and management
THE WASTE BILL BREAKDOWN
The amount of money your business will pay for waste management comprises a range of costs. These include:
- Bin hire From bucket-sized containers to large, skip-like bins, commercial waste bins are available in a range of sizes to suit your waste requirements. At Smarter Business, we will hire your business the waste bins suited to your business’s requirements and pride ourselves at our competitive bin hire rates.
- Bin collection For most businesses, filling bins is easy. You need to be able to close the lid on your chosen sized bin and follow regulations governing commercial waste storage. Everyone would agree, however – regular, reliable waste collection is pivotal to every business. It is the amount of waste included in your weekly pick-up which will affect the amount you pay for this service. For businesses generating hazardous waste or in the event of emergency waste disposal needs, a waste management company takes the hassle out of disposal.
- Waste transfer A waste transfer station sorts your waste before it goes to landfill or for recycling. This comes at a fee which is added to your overall waste costs.
- Landfill tax Landfill has long been a contentious issue in Britain, with growing concern around reducing landfill capacity for the sake of the environment. Subject to annual increase, the government charges a levy for every ton of commercial waste that goes to landfill and this varies according to the type of waste disposed of too. This tax differs across England, Wales, and Scotland.
- Admin fees As with many business services, an administrative charge is attached to your waste management service. Every business is required to complete a waste transfer note in the course of its waste disposal and this is generally included under this administrative fee.
- Gate fees The gate fee is an amount charged at landfill and recycling facilities depending on the amount of waste being disposed of.
Your business has the potential to save on commercial waste disposal rates
THE BENEFITS OF A BUSINESS WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN
By partnering with a commercial waste management company, all processes and costs associated with your business waste are handled on your behalf, with your business paying a fee to ensure all the bases are covered. This means you can get on with business knowing that all your requirements and needs are being addressed to the highest standard and, most importantly, with the best value and benefit to your business a paramount consideration.
While waste management may seem simple, this is an area frequently overlooked by business owners. A shift in outlook can unearth potential savings for your business and, on many occasions, waste management companies can come up with bespoke solutions to suit your specific business needs. Working with waste specialists in compiling a waste management plan means you can work together in deriving the best service for the best price.
If your business operates across multiple sites, there is also great benefit in working with one company across all locations to streamline waste collection and give you peace of mind that the same level of service is being received in every area.
Shop around for your waste management company
Waste management companies have different rates. Shop around to find the most reasonably priced service provider, but also keep in mind that it makes financial sense to work with a company which operates in your area. By choosing the right company to partner with on this front, you will often receive strategic advice around achieving savings around waste, as well as a full suite of business services.
Don’t add to the financial waste by incurring penalties
Become familiar with business waste law – or work with a reputable waste management company – to prevent paying penalties for non-compliance. This extends to your choice of waste management company too. Ensure that they meet the requisite registration and licensing requirements.
Reduce. Re-use. Recycle
There are many benefits associated with waste reduction but, with a lower quantity of waste costing less for disposal and recycling incurring a lower rate than general waste, this stands to have a major financial effect on businesses in the long term.
At Smarter Business, our specialist waste division caters for small business and corporate business waste requirements across the full spectrum of waste types. As with our full suite of business services, we work to our industry-leading high standards to provide reliable, cost-effective waste management solutions and meet the everyday needs of our clients.
Contact Smarter Business today to get a quote and find out how your dedicated account manager can help you devise a waste management plan for ongoing savings.