Landfill tax increase April 2017 – it’s time to start baling and compacting

As part of the Spring Budget 2017, landfill tax has increased in April 2017 and is likely to continue to do so year-on-year.

How will this affect businesses?

Waste management companies are certain to increase their waste collection charges because of this announcement. All businesses that use bins and skips for their recyclable and non-recyclable materials should take note of this and look into alternatives for their trade waste.

How much of an increase is it?

The government has stated that the standard rate per tonne of waste going to landfill will increase by 2% in 2017 a following 3.3% in 2018. Because of this and the extra costs of labour and transport we would expect waste management companies to increase each bin collection by £1.00 and each skip collection by £5.00 this year.

How can businesses change the way they recycle?

Installing recycling and waste reducing equipment will easily help to reduce the costs charged by waste management companies. If common recyclables such as cardboard and plastics are entering bins and skips then this is one area that can easily be made cheaper. Installing a baler supplied by QCR Recycling Equipment means these recyclables can be processed through the baler and the finished product gets collected by a recycler. There is then no need for recycling bins or skips on site anymore, making recyclables immune from landfill tax increases.

What about general waste?

General waste still needs to enter bins but there is an easy way to reduce collections. Installing a QCR bin packer or QCR bag compactor will heavily reduce the volume of general waste inside a bin and cut bin collections by 80%. This heavy decrease may also allow for more bins to be removed, freeing up valuable space.

QCR Recycling Equipment (QCR) offer free site surveys, free equipment trials and free friendly advice. If you want to reduce your waste costs and protect yourself from the impending landfill tax increase, get in touch.