Biffa Waste Services has launched a new online service, which it claims will provide a "cost effective" solution for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to access waste and recycling collection services in their area.
For the first time, businesses can search for
Biffa waste collection services in their locality, get a quote and book and pay online using the new service, the company said. Biffa said the website would be particularly helpful for
SMEs, which find it difficult to access waste and recycling services at competitive prices.
"This new website is all about opening up collection services to businesses that are appropriate to their needs," Michael Topham, divisional recycling director at Biffa said. "A lot of
small businesses find it difficult to access suitable
waste and recycling services as many local authorities don’t offer a business collection service so it’s even more important that businesses can access services elsewhere at a competitive price."
Responsibility Deal
The new online service comes in the wake of the launch of the Responsibility Deal, a new agreement between the Government and the Environmental Services Association (ESA), which represents the waste and resource management sector.
Part of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’s Waste Review, the Responsibility Deal has been established to make it easier for SMEs to cut down on their rubbish and save money, and recycle more of the waste they produce. It also promises to relieve the regulatory burden on those waste management organisations that are providing a better service.
LATS allowances
SMEs face high costs and poor waste and recycling services, which is preventing them from playing their part in reducing UK waste, according to the Federation of Small Business (FSB), which says waste is one of the three biggest issues of concern raised by its members. One of the reasons for this is the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS), which acts as a disincentive for local authorities to offer waste collection services to businesses, often making services uncompetitive.
Under the LATS, councils face tough allowances for the amount of Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) they are able to send to landfill and even tougher penalties for not meeting these targets. Waste collected from small businesses by a local authority is classed as BMW and counts towards its LATS allowance.
Cost effective solution
A spokesman for Biffa said the online service being offered by the company meant it could provide "a more cost effective way of managing waste [and] a solution which reduces pressure on landfill sites and improves businesses’ environmental performance".
As the UK moves to a zero waste economy, it is becoming increasingly costly fro businesses to dispose of waste via landfill, while waste regulations are becoming tougher. Landfill tax currently costs £56 per tonne of waste and is set to increase by £8 each year, reaching £80 by 2014. Meanwhile, new
regulations came into force in September aimed at getting all businesses to reduce the amount of waste they produce. Before throwing something away, businesses of all sizes must now consider if they can prevent it, reuse it and recycle in the first place, or risk being fined.
Biffa waste services
Biffa said it offers three waste and recycling services to businesses: general waste; glass collections and 'Dry Mixed Recycling’ (DMR), which includes cardboard, paper, newspapers, plastic films and bottles, steel and aluminium cans. The company operates over 50 industrial and commercial collection depots and almost 40 treatment recycling centres across the UK , although it has a higher concentration of waste collection services in England than in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
How to access service
Businesses can access Biffa’s new online waste collection service via the company’s main website by clicking on the 'Quote’ tab and then giving details of location, type of waste collection being sought, frequency and amount to be collected. The system will then provide a quote for the service, which the user can either accept or decline. Biffa is offering discounts to businesses that take longer-term contracts.
Like this story? Please subscribe to our free weekly e-newsletter at the top of the page for more content like this.
Related content:
