EXCLUSIVE: Rising competition over waste sparks feedstock fears

As revealed by our exclusive research last week, nearly a third of waste firms (31%) are experiencing material supply pressures in terms of it impacting upon their business, with 18% citing it as a “real concern”.

These fears are primarily driven by increased competition for feedstock, not only within the waste industry itself but outside of the sector as businesses and organisations look to extract more value from their waste streams through the implementation of closed loop processes.

Our report also found that 42% of waste firms believe feedstock security could become problematic in the future.

While the majority of these companies (61%) felt competition for materials would mostly come from their own industry, nearly half (47%) believed that new ‘reclaim hungry’ entrants into the sector such as manufacturers, retailers and power/utility firms now pose a serious threat.

Competition from overseas markets was also considered significant by more than a fifth (23%) of respondents.

Other factors driving concerns over feedstock security include a greater policy focus at EU level on waste prevention and reuse, which in turn is shaping the Government’s zero waste agenda in the UK.

The full White Paper Closing the loop: risk or reward? which is sponsored by FCC Environment, can be downloaded for free here

Maxine Perella