COMPANY PROFILES - BY SANDRA DICK
Forerunners with a modern twist: new-age apps successfully integrate tomorrow's tech with today's waste
EVER since Tim Berners-Lee pushed a few buttons and invented the World Wide Web, every industry – from banking to transport, media to retail – has been in the grip of change. And from smart bins and robotics to the digitalisation of data that enables faster and better understanding of what we throw away, the waste sector has been undergoing an evolution of its own. According to recent analysis from industry researchers Frost and Sullivan, advanced technologies, digital solutions and new business models are creating exciting growth opportunities across the global waste management industry. It suggests the sector is ripe for disruption; with the potential for smart tech investors to make billions from a future driven by the ‘internet of things’, ‘smart cities’, a circular economy and information technology. Some are already seizing the chance to merge tomorrow’s technology with today’s waste. As the year draws to an end, waste fi rm Bukkawaste launched its online household waste collection app in response to reduced waste collection services across Greater Manchester. It allows householders to choose when their waste can be collected for a set price of £9.99 – eff ectively off ering a private alternative to a traditional public service. Meanwhile Collect My Waste was launched in August by ACM Environmental, and offers business users weekly bin pick-ups and on- demand skip hire.
Its Uber-style off ering means users simply tap an icon to connect with a network of privately-owned local waste collectors and recyclers throughout the UK, choose their collection times and get reminders so they know when to put out their waste. “Consumers are far more ‘tech savvy’ than ever before and expect a fi rst-class client experience with fast, reliable services,” says Collect My Waste Chief Executive, Andy Jacobs. Waste management brokers in particular are seeing significant change, with new technology and forward-thinking start-ups disrupting traditional ways of working, bringing benefits to waste producers and waste management businesses alike. “We’re brokers with a twist,” says Thomas
12 SHWM November, 2018
“Both sides know it’s legitimate because it’s been checked that they are both fully compliant.” Use of the app is free up to the point of transaction, when SELIGO takes a small commission for having provided the service. “I don’t see traditional brokers as competitors,” adds Paris. “There’s always going to be traditional players. In fact, they are also developing their own technology because they’re afraid of allowing digital brokers to get between them and their clients.”
SELIGO'S Thomas Paris
Paris, director and co-founder of SELIGO, a digital platform which connects small waste producers with waste management businesses. SELIGO recently won the SME Innovation Award at RWM, Britain’s largest recycling and waste management expo. “Traditional brokers work on big quantities,” he explains. “The amount of work required for one tonne is the same as for 100 tonnes, so they work on quantity. “But we focus on smaller quantities. We don’t approach waste producers, instead we approach waste carriers who need to dispose of waste in an area that may be outside of their usual place. “We know most treatment sites have 80 to 90 percent of normal tonnage locked up in long-term contracts but every now and again have spare capacity. “It might be a Wednesday afternoon and there are two guys at the weighbridge playing cards because there’s no movement. “We put them in contact with small waste carriers, and lift some of the issues they usually encounter.” Issues like whether the carrier has a licence, how they will pay for the service, what goods they are carrying and prices, can be ironed on the app before the deal is struck.
“It’s a bit like
booking.com,” adds Paris. “Instead of a hotel slot, you book a site where you can tip. The booking is
only confi rmed when the bank validates the payment.
Indeed, earlier this year Veolia UK launched
www.biotrading.co.uk, a trading platform for waste wood and organic materials. Veolia has also bought into
Wastebox.biz, which is designed to help construction and demolition companies dispose of waste. Already up and running in Germany and Austria, it is destined for the UK market. Meanwhile cloud-based waste and recycling company Rubicon Global and Paris-based Suez are almost two years into a data and technology partnership predicted to revolutionise the industry. Jane Hall, director of digital app specialists Green Edge and an IEMA Chartered Environmental Consultant with 20 years’ experience, is among those to spot a gap in the sector, and using digital technology to fi ll it. “Traditional brokers tend to be extremely knowledgeable about a particular sector or geographical location. Customarily, it's tricky to identify waste which has crossed from one sector to another.
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