Blog Details

Commercial waste is something you can’t avoid as a business owner. When you have a physical commercial location, you will naturally create waste and need to dispose of it so that you don’t harm the environment and your business.

Proper waste management is not only a vision, it’s now a requirement in today’s environment-friendly market, and knowing the end destinations of your commercial waste can help you execute better ways to reduce costs.

Read more about how commercial waste in the UK is treated and how you and your business can manage it effectively beforehand.

What Waste is Considered As Commerical Waste?

Any waste generated by doing any business activity is considered commercial waste. This includes general non-recyclable waste, mixing recycling, glass, food, confidential waste, clinical waste, and hazardous waste.

The only difference between household and business waste is the way they produce. The waste can be the same as plastic containers for instance, but if it was generated through commercial activity then it is considered as commercial waste.

But if it was generated through household activity then it is considered as household waste.

Collection and Sorting

Initial Collection of Commerical Waste

In general, most of the commercial waste is collected by licensed waste management companies. These companies have various bins available for different waste types such as general waste, recyclables, glass waste, food waste, clinical and more.

Storing Facilities

Once the waste is collected, they are now transported to sorting facilities. In this facility, the waste materials are separated based on their type, paper, metals, plastics, and more.

Using modern technology and tools like automated sorting machines and manual labour, all the waste is categorised correctly.

Recycling

Recycling Process

Waste materials such as cardboard, paper, plastics and metals are sent to recycling plants to be recycled. These materials are then cleaned and processed into raw materials that can be used to manufacture different products.

For example, recycled paper can become textbooks, and plastic can be transformed into packaging boxes.

Recycling Benefits

Recycling helps to protect natural resources by using minimum resources as possible. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and minimises the amount of waste sent to landfills.

Commercial Waste in Landfill

Landfill Use

Not all commercial and household waste can be recycled. General waste which cannot be recycled or reused, is often shipped to landfill sites.

Landfill sites are planned to be carefully managed and minimise environmental impact. However, they still have their own challenges such as methane emissions and long-term land use.

Commercial Waste Landfill Regulations and Fees

The UK government imposes strict regulations and landfill taxes to encourage industrialists to innovate different ways to treat waste and reduce the amount of waste they send to landfills.

Commercial Waste: Energy Recovery

Waste-to-Energy

Some non-recyclable waste is used for generating energy and sent to energy plants. Using this commercial waste, they produce electricity and heat. This process reduces the volume of waste saving big fees and provides a renewable energy source.

Environmental Impact

While waste-to-energy is a better option than landfilling, still it produces emissions like methane.

However, modern WtE plants now have advanced technology and machinery to filter out any harmful pollutants, making it a cleaner option compared to traditional waste disposal methods.