2023 is now officially underway and we’re seeing our staff and clients return to their workplaces refreshed and reset.
January is well regarded as a great time for forecasting, planning and strategising ahead of the next 12 months. From a commercial waste perspective, GPT Waste uses the beginning of each year to look closely at market trends and predictions and we guide our customers and prospective clients toward cost-effective and sustainable waste management solutions.
When looking ahead to a new year with an eye to make market predictions, it’s pertinent to look back at what trends emerged throughout 2022 and which of those had the hallmarks of longevity, likely to remain as factors of the new 2023 waste market.
Rising costs of waste
While costs rose over almost all aspects of the economy, we witnessed the waste market not being immune to rising costs either. Although rising costs might be a trend we’ll need to combat in 2023, it was a worrying trend of inefficient or ill-fitting waste management practices that unnecessarily spiked waste costs that caused more of a concern. Inefficient or ill-fitting waste management plans can cost firms thousands more in a single year let alone over a multi-year waste contract deal.
Using GPT Waste’s expert, the unbiased and broker-led model for negotiating waste contracts can yield serious savings to a firm’s bottom line.
Failure to benchmark waste contracts
The start of the new year is often the time when a large majority of waste contracts are renewed. In 2022 we witnessed many of these contracts being blindly renewed without proper understanding or benchmarking against the wider market. It’s important not to blindly accept rate rises and solutions sold by waste haulers. Understanding your waste, supported by a waste expert is likely to save you thousands of pounds in 2023.
At GPT Waste we save new clients an average of 20% off their existing waste management contracts. We work with our customers to streamline their waste management solution, minimise on-site complexity and deliver improved service and accountability.
Falling recycling rates
In 2022 we witnessed further erosion of recycling rates in the UK. While many firms may have increased their pushes towards better recycling rates, it’s factors like the fierce appetite from the Waste to the Energy sector, energy prices and confusion around waste contamination onsite that is working against the delicate balance of the waste hierarchy.
Growing complexity in company waste policies pressures waste cost
Our team here at GPT Waste has seen a rise in waste policy complexity across many sectors we service in the market. Sustainability, recycling and waste targets are set internally with all the best intentions but a lack of understanding of the waste industry & waste streams often lead to complexity and higher than-needed waste costs.
Remember, waste haulers are incentivised to empty as many bins as possible from a site, not drive down your waste costs! If you don’t fully understand your waste streams, who will? High costs lay at the heart of complex and ill-fitting waste solutions.
Data and transparency
Mark Twain said ‘Data is like garbage. You better know what to do with it before you collect it.’ At GPT Waste we think he was onto something. Data is the key to understanding your waste, what’s in it, where it goes, how much you create and what waste is yours.
GPT Waste’s data-led approach to your firm’s waste ensures you know what you’re making, where it’s going and where you could be saving. Our industry-leading customer portal gives our clients complete transparency over their waste stream while our waste experts can identify efficiencies with a free waste assessment.
The takeaways for 2023
So, what are the main takeaways for 2023? There’re certainly key themes of rising costs we’ve identified for 2023 but this is not the main takeaway. While cost increases are the threat, cost savings are the answer and they are still achievable across the waste sector in 2023.
The keys things to understand:
– Waste costs only go up unless you understand why they don’t necessarily need to.
– Don’t auto-renew your waste contracts in 2023.
– Waste haulers aren’t incentivised to save you money or find you efficiencies.
– Understanding your waste will yield cost and environmental efficiencies.
– Corporate policies around waste can lead to unnecessary complexity, confusion and higher costs. Consult with an expert.
As we look ahead with optimism for the new year we like to imagine what we would like be celebrating within the waste industry come December 2023. A trend we’d like to cover a year from now would be that 2023 was the year that firms understood their waste, the costs surrounding it, their true environmental impact, and ways to reduce it.
Here’s to a cleaner, greener, and more cost-efficient 2023!
GPT Waste offers an industry-leading, transparent and technology-backed offering to the UK waste sector. We can offer strategic reviews of your waste management requirements in order to identify environmental and cost benefits. Our approach has made us the UK’s leading independent waste management company. To speak to our expert team about your waste management requirements, call 0844 854 5000.
