Veolia has commanding lead in municipal waste market

Veolia dominates the municipal waste market and is thought to be twice the size of its nearest competitor when it comes to treating this waste stream, according to a new report.


The BDS Marketing Research study shows how much municipal waste goes into various treatment facilities, ranging from energy-from-waste (EfW), composting, mechanical biological treatment (MBT) and material recycling facilities (MRFs). Together, these sites are now believed to handle up to 10m tonnes of materials each year.

The Analysis of municipal collected waste by treatment channel report estimates that Veolia handles more waste through EfW plants and MRFs than any other company. Together, these two treatment methods handle around 80% of the waste that is diverted away from landfill.

The study also identified Viridor and Biffa as leading MRF specialists, with WRG the second largest company behind Veolia when it comes to EfW. It found that in the in-vessel composting sector, no one company had a significant market share, but leading firms included Countrystyle Group, Vital Earth and Viridor. Shanks continues as the main developer of MBT facilities.

The report contains details of over 200 sites operated by around 130 companies, and is believed to be the first report of its kind.

Maxine Perella

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