Making Weight Data Obligatory for Waste Collections

We think waste contractors should be legally obliged to provide clients with waste weight data for every collection. Whilst being compliant and obeying the law is admirable of course, it’s only part of the reason why we’re such believers in waste weight reporting.

At AnyJunk we’ve been offering our clients weight data alongside volume data for a while. Naturally, therefore, we would be overjoyed if weight and volume specification became standard for the industry and a more concrete part of the waste transfer note obligation.

For us, one of the biggest attractions is that it provides a more level playing field when it comes to service comparison, helping the customer evaluate and make more informed decisions when choosing a waste partner. In the context of bulky waste collection, it’s still remarkably rare for contractors to provide their clients with much more than an invoice specifying load size (eg. ½ vanload) or, if skips are used, the type (eg. builders skip) or volume of the skip (eg. 8 cubic yards). This approach means that most purchasing managers tend to focus on volume-based rates rather than anything to do with weight.

What many purchasing managers can miss, however, is that different waste contractors can have very different sized trucks, and also that the amount of volume used depends on how well a truck or skip is loaded and to what extent items are broken down beforehand.

Obliging every contractor to provide weight information for waste collections as well as the exact volume would fill the gap – allowing customers to make a genuine comparison about what is being cleared and how much it is costing. In addition, it would provide a far more robust audit trail between collection and end disposal – a weakness that remains with all man and van collection – because collection weights could then be reconciled with end tipping receipt weights.

The waste industry needs to become more service focused and an obligation to provide weight data would be just another step in that direction.