The best waste management companies in London

Based on our 20 years of small business experience, here’s our pick of the best waste management companies in London:

As well as giving you the lowdown on London’s leading waste management companies, this guide will also discuss how much it might cost to dispose of your commercial waste, the cost of commercial recycling in London, and the pros and cons of using your local council.

We’ll also dig into how to choose the right waste management company for your needs, and examine whether you need a separate provider for each type of waste your business produces.

If you want some expert assistance finding the right provider for your waste management needs, then our free comparison tool can help. Just take a minute to answer a few quick questions about what you’re looking for, and get bespoke quotes from some of the top waste management companies operating in London.

Or, read on to learn loads more about your options for commercial waste management in London.

Best waste management companies in London

Here’s our overview of London’s leading waste management providers:

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QUICK AND EASY SETUP	ZERO WASTE TO LANDFILL	GOOD FOR LARGE SMEs
Waste Managed	Divert	Biffa	Enviro Waste
Best for A quick and simple set up for small businesses	Best for Flexibility for businesses and diverting waste from landfill	Best for Best for larger SMEs and businesses with complex needs	Best for Eco-friendly waste disposal
Price from Prices start from £1.17 a day, but expect a personalised quote	Price from £74.99 for office rubbish removal	Price from Doesn’t publish set price plans, instead provides personalised quotes	Price from 70kg waste load = £107 + VAT

Use our comparison tool to compare personalised quotes from the best waste management providers in the UK Compare Costs

You can find more information on each of these companies below:

Waste Managed

Locations in London

Although based in Newcastle, Waste Managed offers waste services throughout the capital.

Types of waste collected

Waste Managed collects the following types of waste:

• General waste
• Glass
• Hazardous waste
• Dry mixed recycling
• Clinical waste
• Food waste
• Covid test and PPE disposal

Cost

Waste Managed’s prices are tailored to each client and based on fixed 12-month billing. In other words, you can sign up for 12 months and agree to pay a set fee per month that will cover the cost of your services during the length of the contract.

What kind of company is Waste Managed best suited to?

Waste Managed is well suited to any company wanting the certainty of fixed fees. Its set monthly pricing allows you to plan your outgoings with confidence going forward.

Divert

Locations in London

Divert offers an extensive range of services throughout London.

Types of waste collected

Divert can collect the following in London:

• Clinical waste
• Glass disposal
• WEEE waste
• Cardboard waste
• DMR (Dry Mixed Recycling)
• General waste

It also offers services tailored to individual business sectors, including office waste, retail waste, restaurant waste, industrial waste, and automotive waste.

Cost

Divert’s fixed-price waste collections start from £74.99.

What kind of company is Divert best suited to?

Divert made our list for good reason.

The company offers a distinctly 21st-century approach to waste management, with clear fixed prices (that include labour), an online booking system, and an eco-friendly approach that aims to divert waste from landfill.

This makes Divert a great fit for most SMEs, although construction businesses may want to look elsewhere as the company doesn’t offer a specialist construction waste service.

Biffa

Locations in London

Biffa offers its services in all 32 London boroughs and has four London depots:

• North London
• South London
• East London
• Central London

Types of waste collected

Biffa’s extensive range of services includes:

• General waste collection
• Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR)
• Food waste collection
• Single stream recycling
• Hazardous waste collection and treatment
• Medical waste removal
• Unplanned waste removal
• Asbestos waste disposal

Cost

Doesn’t publish set price plans, instead provides personalised quotes.

What kind of company is Biffa best suited to?

With decades of experience (the company was founded in 1912) and a wide range of specialist services, Biffa is an attractive option for larger SMEs with more complex needs.

These businesses are also often in a good position to benefit from Biffa’s free waste audits, where the company shares its expert knowledge on how to manage waste and the disposal process.

Similarly, businesses with multiple sites in London could find real value in Biffa’s extensive operations in the capital.

Enviro Waste

Locations in London

Based in East London, Enviro Waste offers one-off waste clearance collections in multiple districts across the capital, plus some Essex (IG) postcodes too.

Types of waste collected

Enviro Waste offers the following waste clearance services:

• Office furniture
• Hazardous waste
• Electronic recycling
• White goods recycling
• Tyre recycling
• Data destruction
• Confidential document destruction

Cost

Enviro Waste has a clear, easy to understand pricing structure. It charges based on loads per cubic yard. Prices start at £107 plus VAT for one cubic yard, and increase from there based on the amount of waste that needs to be disposed of.

What kind of company is Enviro Waste best suited to?

With a clear emphasis on recycling and environmentally conscious waste management, Enviro Waste is sure to appeal to any London-based small business that has sustainability high on its agenda.

Plus, office-based businesses and any other companies that produce a lot of confidential paper and digital waste could be drawn to Enviro Waste’s specialist services.

Best of the rest

Here are some other providers you might want to consider:

How to choose the right waste management company for your business

Here are our five top tips to help you find the right waste management company for your London-based business:

• Congestion charge – When considering a provider, it’s really important to check whether congestion charge is included in the stated price or if it’s charged separately.
• Coverage – Make sure that the location or locations of your businesses are within the potential provider’s network.
• Eco-friendly waste management – Where possible, it’s a good idea (from both an environmental and financial perspective) to use recycling and other eco-friendly waste disposal processes. It’s therefore important to look into what providers do with the waste once it’s collected, so ensure this is part of your selection process.
• Reviews – To get a more accurate idea of the service different waste management companies offer, find out what other customers are saying about them. The easiest way to do this is by searching online, but you could also reach out to other small business owners for recommendations.
• Future needs – Don’t just think about the waste disposal your business requires now, but also consider how those needs might change as your company grows. For example, will you need any additional types of waste to be collected, and will the same provider be able to handle that?

Should I use local council services to dispose of my commercial waste in London?

The obvious choice for your commercial waste collection needs is to just use the local council services in the borough where you are based. However, while this approach has its benefits, there are also some key drawbacks:

Using your local council pros and cons

Using a private company pros and cons

Which option is best for me?

To figure out which option is right for your business, you really need to think about your particular circumstances and what you’re looking for from your waste management provider.

For example, if you run your business from home, then you’re probably already familiar with your local council and so it could make sense to use them for your commercial waste needs as well.

Similarly, if you’re just looking for one-off collections, particularly for bulky items or green waste, then it could be easier to contact your local council as and when required.

However, a private company might be the better option if your business needs ongoing collections – particularly if you think the amount or type of waste you need to dispose of may change, as you can have the services tailored to your company’s requirements.

Plus, as commercial waste companies generally specialise in this service, you can take advantage of their industry-specific knowledge and advice.

As well as this, you can shop around and compare a number of waste management companies across the capital to find the right provider for your small business. In contrast, your business location usually determines which local council you can use.

How much does commercial waste disposal cost in London?

How much you can expect to pay for London commercial waste disposal depends on whether you’re using your local council or a private provider.

Local council costs

Many local councils publish their prices online, here’s an approximate estimate of average costs for different waste amounts:

Private company costs

If you’re looking for ongoing collection services, most waste management providers in London prepare customised quotes based on your business needs — contact the provider directly for more information.

Alternatively, for one-off collections, visit our dedicated page on waste disposal prices for more detailed pricing guidelines.

Recycling commercial waste in London

If you want to recycle commercial waste in London, as with general collections, you can use either your local council or a private provider. Alternatively, it may be possible to take it to a recycling site yourself, although you’ll need the appropriate licences to transport the waste.

Recycling commercial waste works in much the same way as general waste disposal — you can arrange for either a one-off collection or an ongoing service.

The type and frequency of the service will depend on what your business needs to recycle e.g. plastic, cardboard, glass, paper.

Some providers offer mixed recycling collections, while others only collect single stream recycling (one type of material). Other types of waste that can be recycled include food waste and some electronics. Recycled food waste can be turned into gas, used to create electricity, and made into fertiliser.

Generally, it’s cheaper to dispose of recyclable waste than other types — with one key reason for this being that it doesn’t incur the additional charges that sending waste to landfill does.

For lots more information on this issue, check out our business recycling page.

From this guide, you should have a better knowledge of the different aspects of managing commercial waste in London, including a rundown of the leading providers and an indication of the costs involved.

Plus, we’ve offered some top tips on choosing a provider in the capital, along with the key differences between using local councils and private providers.

To get stuck in and start comparing bespoke waste management quotes for your London business, just click the link below.

The verdict: The best waste management companies in London

To summarise, four of the best waste management services serving London businesses are:

• Divert – Divert is our No. 1 overall choice for small business waste management, and also comes out on top in London. We love its clear fixed prices, online booking, and eco-friendly approach.
• Waste Managed – Waste Managed offers the certainty of fixed monthly fees, allowing you to better plan your future spending
• Biffa – Biffa is a great choice for larger SMEs, it’s one of the UK’s largest waste management companies and has decades of experience.
• Enviro waste – Enviro waste leads the way when it comes to eco-friendly waste disposal in London, and recycles 92% of commercial waste.

It can be hard to find exact pricing information for commercial waste providers online as it’s often worked out on a quote basis.

If you’d like to get commercial waste quotes for free, take two minutes to use our quote-finding tool – it’s the quickest and easiest way to get the best deal on this kind of service.

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