How is commercial waste disposed of?

Commercial waste is disposed of in stages: the collection van unloads at a licensed transfer station, where loads are bulked and sorted. From there each stream goes a different way. Dry mixed recycling goes to a materials recovery facility, where machines and people separate paper, card, plastics and metals for reprocessing. Food waste goes to anaerobic digestion, which turns it into gas and fertiliser. General waste goes to an energy-from-waste plant, where it is burned to generate electricity, or to landfill, taxed at over £130 a tonne. Upholstered furniture goes to incineration under the POPs rules. Our customers' general waste goes to a licensed disposal partner for energy recovery; 98% of what we collect stays out of landfill.