The UK Waste Management Top 20 Companies are listed below with the latest published data ( 2019/2020) Revenues are given in £ millions GBP.
A summary of the background information for the top 5 UK Waste Management Companies is provided below the following chart of the top 20 companies.
Veolia Environmental Services comes first. It is clearly very successful. It is the largest UK Waste Management Top 20 company in terms of revenue by a considerable margin.
The UK Waste Management Top 20 companies (in 2019/2020) are listed below, with the revenue of each in millions GBP:
| Rank | Company | Revenue £m/yr |
| 1. | Veolia Environmental Services | 1,602 |
| 2. | Biffa Group | 1,091 |
| 3. | Viridor (Pennon Group) | 853 |
| 4. | Suez Environnement UK | 767 |
| 5. | FCC Environment (FCC) | 676 |
| 6. | Amey Environmental (Ferrovial) | 336 |
| 7. | DS Smith Recycling UK | 285 |
| 8. | Enva Group (DCC) | 210 |
| 9. | Renewi (Shanks Group) | 168 |
| 10. | Serco Waste Management | 160 |
| 11. | Mick George | 158 |
| 12. | Day Group | 148 |
| 13. | Reconomy (UK) | 146 |
| 14. | Tradebe Environmental Services | 126 |
| 15. | Cory Riverside Energy | 118 |
| 16. | Grundon Waste Management | 118 |
| 17. | Enovert | 112 |
| 18 | SRCL (Stericycle) | 102 |
| 19. | Hills UK | 101 |
| 20. | Palm Recycling | 85 |
Veolia is followed by Biffa Group, Viridor (Pennon Group), Suez Environnement UK, and FCC Environment (FCC). These make up the top 5 (often called “the big-5” UK waste companies).
Revenues from leading waste management services working in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017/2018 (in million GBP) | Statista:
“The so called ‘Big Five' of the waste management services industry (Veolia, Biffa, Suez, Viridor and FCC) maintained their dominance, with FCC once again doubling the revenue of Amey Environmental. In total, the Big Five generated revenues of 4.8 billion British pounds, while the combined revenues of the remaining 15 companies amounts to less than half that amount.”
“Of these, the French transnational Veolia Environment Services recorded the largest revenue of the leading waste management services working in the United Kingdom at 1.5 billion British pounds. In the same year, Veolia generated a global revenue of 24.8 billion euros.”
… Find more statistics at Statista
Essential Company Details for the Top 5 of our UK Waste Management Top 20 Companies
We have taken the top 5 of the “UK Waste Management Top 20 Companies”, and extracted their essential details, and for most, we have also included a short summary history of their origins.
1. Veolia UK
Veolia, the UK's environmental solutions leader, offers a complete variety of waste, water, and energy management services designed to support the circular economy and protect precious raw materials. It employs about 78,000 people, operates in 35 countries, and produced nearly €9.02 billion in sales even back in 2009. It specialises in waste management, treatment, and disposal, as well as waste recycling, reclamation, and reuse. Veolia Environmental Services handles both solid and liquid waste, as well as hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
2. Biffa Group
Biffa is the second-largest integrated waste management firm in the UK for turnover, ranking second among the Top 20 UK Waste Management Companies.
Biffa plc is a waste management firm based in High Wycombe, England. It offers collection, dumping, recycling, and special waste services to local authorities as well as industrial and commercial clients in the United Kingdom.
Biffa Group Limited is a major waste management firm based in High Wycombe, England. Its four operational divisions include collection, recycling, treatment, disposal, and technologically driven energy-generating services.
Within its municipal sector, Biffa serves approximately 2.5 million households and collects 4.1 million garbage every week, and it has over 72,000 industrial and commercial clients. In terms of revenue, it is the second-largest waste management firm in the United Kingdom. Biffa is the UK's largest waste management firm in terms of the volume collected and provides national coverage, collecting over 250,000 bins every week and covering 95% of UK postcodes.
3. Suez Environnement UK
SUEZ, a global specialist in the water and waste sectors, assists cities and enterprises in the circular economy in preserving, optimising, and securing the resources critical to our future.
It sits in 3rd place on our leader board within the UK Waste Management Top 20 Companies list.
SITA UK Rebrands as Suez Environnement
4. Viridor (Pennon Group)
Pennon Group Plc is an environmental utility infrastructure company at the top end of the FTSE 250 which owns South West Water Limited and Viridor Limited. (Viridor comes from the Latin ‘to become green‘.) It is a recycling, renewable energy, and waste management company based in the United Kingdom. The Pennon Group is an FTSE 250 PLC focused on the water and waste management industries.
The waste company Viridor was formed originally in 1956 as Harrison Western Ltd, and later became Haul Waste Ltd. Haul Waste became part of Pennon (then South West Water Ltd) in 1993 and grew by purchasing companies in the waste collection and landfill disposal market.
In 1995 it bought Blue Circle Waste Management, bringing about (in 1998) South West Water's name change to Pennon Group, after the merger of Haul Waste and Blue Circle Waste Management under the name Viridor.
It subsequently acquired part of Churngold's waste business in June 2003, Thames Waste Management in 2004, Somerset LAWDC Wyvern Waste in 2006, Grosvenor Waste Management plus Skipaway Holdings in 2007, and Shore Recycling in 2008.
Today the business is valued at over £1.5 billion, with recent acquisitions and growth focused on expanding the company's recycling and energy from waste capacity. Viridor was awarded the Greater Manchester Waste PFI contract, the largest waste and renewable energy contract in the UK. via Viridor – Wikipedia
5. FCC Environment
FCC Environment (UK) Limited is a waste management company headquartered in Northampton, United Kingdom and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas. It was formed in May 2012 through the merger and rebranding of Focsa Services and Waste Recycling Group.
Waste Recycling Group acquired Hanson Waste Management from Hanson plc for £185 million in cash in December 2000. Waste Recycling Group was acquired by the private equity group Terra Firma Capital Partners for £315.2 million in June 2003.
In September 2006 Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas acquired Waste Recycling Group, excluding its landfill gas operations, from Terra Firma for £1.4 billion. In May 2012 Focsa Services and Waste Recycling Group were merged and re-branded “FCC Environment”. via FCC Environment – Wikipedia
This page has been repeatedly updated from the original 2006 post and most recently the table was updated in June 2021. The original post is provided below, as a historical record.
The following is our Archive Article first published in 2007: UK Waste Management Top 20 Companies
In 2006 the UK waste market continued to consolidate, mainly through acquisitions. These have again increased the market share of the industry's leading players. We have used the latest reported turnover of the 20 largest UK waste management companies as our “UK Waste Management Top 20 Companies”, and made our best guess at ranking them as best we can.
However, although Cleanaway is now part of Veolia, they became the biggest after the Veolia take-over in the autumn – we will await the company accounts to verify that. It is no surprise that the gap between the leading half-dozen companies and the remainder of the industry has widened further.
Since the Veolia-Cleanaway merger, there are just 6 companies at the highest turnover level. However, what a huge turnover it is for these companies at half a billion UK Pounds and more per annum.
Do give the Waster feedback about these UK Waste Management Top 20 Companies, especially if you think we have it wrong! Just click on the “Comments” link below and tell us what you think.
All our UK Waste Management Top 20 Companies are ranked based on Official Company Tax Records as filed at Companies House UK, Stock Exchange Records or other sources. Statista data is shown on the chart, refer to Statista for sources and verification.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Who are the “big-5” UK waste companies?
The “big-5” UK waste companies are:
- Veolia Environmental Services
- Biffa Group
- Viridor (Pennon Group)
- Suez Environnement UK
- FCC Environment (FCC)
2. How much revenue did the top 5 companies generate in 2019/2020?
The combined revenue of the top 5 companies in 2019/2020 was:
- Veolia Environmental Services – £1,602 million
- Biffa Group – £1,091 million
- Viridor (Pennon Group) – £853 million
- Suez Environnement UK – £767 million
- FCC Environment (FCC) – £676 million
3. How do the revenues of the top 5 companies compare to the rest of the top 20?
The top 5 companies, also known as the “Big Five”, generated revenues of approximately £4.8 billion in 2017/2018. The remaining 15 companies had a combined revenue that amounted to less than half of that figure.
4. Has the ranking of these companies changed over the years?
Yes, the rankings have evolved over the last 15 years. For instance, in the late 2000s, Biffa was in the top position, while Veolia, which is now the top company, was in 3rd place.
5. What services does Veolia UK provide?
Veolia UK offers a comprehensive range of waste, water, and energy management services designed to bolster the circular economy and preserve valuable raw materials. They specialize in waste management, treatment, disposal, recycling, reclamation, and reuse for both solid and liquid, hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
6. What was SITA UK's rebranding decision?
In March 2015, SITA UK, a waste and recycling services provider, was rebranded as SUEZ Environnement. This decision was to adopt a unified brand identity across its global operations. By 2015, SUEZ Environnement decided to shift towards a more resource-focused approach across its two key sectors: water and waste.
7. Where can I find more statistical data about these companies?
For more in-depth statistics regarding these waste management companies, you can visit Statista where the data is frequently updated.
8. How many households does Biffa serve?
Biffa serves about 2.5 million households in the municipal sector, collecting garbage from approximately 4.1 million households every week. Furthermore, they have over 72,000 industrial and commercial clients.
9. How many countries does SUEZ Environnement operate in?
SUEZ Environnement currently operates in more than 70 countries globally, offering services under over 40 different brands.
I hope this FAQs section provides a clearer overview of the content from the web article.
[Update history: This article was first posted in February 2007. It was updated in January 2020. The Table was updated in June 2021. The text was updated in November 2021. FAQs Added August 2023.]
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When I see figures for companies I always like to look at turnover. What is so surprising is that Veolia Environmental Services is such a lot bigger than the next largest, which is the Biffa Group. One wonders how they got there. There is a story worth telling in that, I’m sure. Thanks for the info.
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