Highlights from Biffa’s 2022 Annual and Sustainability reports

Key highlights:

Sustainability

• Diverted 98 million surplus products, totalling 35,000 tonnes, through Company Shop Group
• Increased plastic recycling capacity by a further 25% to 151,000 tonnes
• Since 2018, built rail hubs in Manchester, Leeds and London, enabling over 1.5m tonnes of inert waste to be transported by rail instead of road, saving 17,700 tonnes of CO2e emissions
• Continued with roll-out of electric and alternative fuel refuse collection vehicles, with 65 now in operation

People

• 10,000+ employees at more than 200 locations
• Launched new ‘family friendly’ policies and strengthened Modern Slavery response
• R&E division awarded the maximum five stars by The British Safety Council

Partnerships

• Raised £180,000 for WasteAid
• Worked with Greggs to create and trial more sustainable packaging
• Received a 34% increase in donations of surplus food from industry partners, enabling Community Shop to provide the equivalent of 2,950,000 meals for people most in need

Operations

• Acquired Viridor’s collections business, broadening customer base and solidifying position
• Collected eight million tonnes of waste from 96,000 businesses and 1.9 million households

Michael Topham, Biffa CEO, said: “I am delighted with the progress we have made in the face of another eventful and challenging year. Not only have we demonstrated the resilience of our business model, resulting in record adjusted operating profits and the reinstatement of the dividend, but we continued to invest in the infrastructure and services that are essential to the delivery of a circular economy.

“As we look forward, whilst being mindful of the near term challenges the UK economy is facing, we are increasingly well positioned to play a key role in the transition that our sector is embarking upon, supported by an ambitious policy agenda.”

Read more about our annual reports and accounts.