Everything London businesses need to know about commercial waste — prices, bin sizes, recycling and food waste rules, your legal duties, and how to compare providers to cut your bill.
London is one of the toughest and most expensive places in the UK to arrange business waste collection. Kerbside space is tight, boroughs impose their own restrictions, traffic and the ULEZ push up operating costs for carriers, and prices for the exact same service can vary enormously from one provider to the next. Stratos Environmental is a commercial waste broker that compares the whole market on your behalf — national carriers and independent London operators alike — so your business gets a compliant, reliable collection at the best available price.
This page is a complete, practical guide to commercial waste in the capital. Use it to understand what you should be paying, which bins suit your premises, what the law now requires, and the London-specific quirks that catch businesses out. When you’re ready, request a free quote or upload your current invoice and we’ll try to beat it.
There is no single “London price” for business waste. What you pay is driven by four things: the volume of waste you produce, the bin size you use, how often you’re collected, and the waste stream (general waste is dearer than recycling). On top of the per-collection (per-lift) cost you may see a bin rental or standing charge, and every commercial contract is subject to VAT.
| Bin size | Rough capacity | Typical general waste price per collection* |
|---|---|---|
| 240L wheelie bin | 3–4 bin bags | £6–£12 |
| 360L wheelie bin | 5–6 bin bags | £9–£16 |
| 660L wheelie bin | 8–10 bin bags | £14–£26 |
| 1100L wheelie bin | 14–18 bin bags | £20–£38 |
| Front-end loader (FEL, 8–10 yd³) | Large / bulky volumes | Priced per lift, on request |
*Indicative ranges only, excluding VAT and any bin rental / standing charge. Real prices depend on your borough, collection frequency, contract length and current market rates. Recycling is often cheaper than general waste. Get a free quote for accurate pricing.
As a rough rule of thumb, a small London shop or office with one 240L general-waste bin collected weekly might spend in the region of £30–£60 a month; a busy restaurant running multiple 1100L bins with several collections a week can easily run into several hundred pounds a month. The single biggest reason London businesses overpay is being locked into a rolled-over contract with annual price rises — which is exactly what comparing the market fixes.
Want a like-for-like number for your premises? See our commercial waste prices guide or compare quotes in a couple of minutes.
Getting your bin size and frequency right is where most savings are found. Pay for a 1100L bin that’s half empty each week and you’re burning money; under-provision and you’ll get side-waste charges or overflowing bins. The common commercial options are:
Our wheelie bin size guide breaks down capacities and weight limits, and our Binpedia covers every container type in detail.
Recycling is not just good practice — for most London businesses it is now a legal requirement, and it usually reduces your bill because recycling collections are frequently cheaper than general waste. Under England’s Simpler Recycling rules, workplaces with 10 or more employees have had to separate their recyclables and food waste from general waste since 31 March 2025; smaller micro-firms must comply by 31 March 2027.
In practice that means presenting three broad streams: dry recyclables (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card), food waste, and residual general waste. Many London providers offer dry mixed recycling so several materials can go in one bin, which is ideal where space for lots of separate containers simply doesn’t exist.
Separate food waste collection is essential for London’s huge hospitality sector and any office with a canteen or kitchen. Food is heavy and, when mixed into general waste, drives up disposal costs and creates odour and pest problems — a real issue in dense, warm city-centre premises. Collected separately, food waste is typically recycled into energy through anaerobic digestion. Restaurants, pubs, cafés and hotels should treat food waste as a core, frequent stream.
Pubs, bars and restaurants across London get through enormous volumes of glass, which needs its own glass recycling collection for safety and recycling. Other common commercial streams we compare include mixed recycling, clinical and healthcare waste for dental and medical premises, and confidential waste for offices handling sensitive paperwork.
Every London business has a legal Duty of Care for the waste it produces. In short, you must:
Get this wrong and you risk fixed penalties or unlimited fines — and if your waste is fly-tipped by an unlicensed carrier, you can be held responsible. When you book through Stratos, every collection is arranged through a licensed carrier and the paperwork is handled for you. It’s also worth knowing the difference between business and household waste: you cannot legally put commercial waste in domestic council bins.
Waste in London comes with complications you won’t find in most of the country:
We arrange collections for businesses right across Greater London. Explore your area for local detail:
We compare providers for the waste streams each sector actually needs — from restaurants and pubs to offices, plus cafés, hotels, retail, gyms, dental practices, schools and warehouses.
We’re not tied to a single supplier. We put licensed providers in competition for your business and recommend what genuinely suits your premises and budget — honest advice, better prices, and reliable collections. Already have a contract? Upload your invoice and we’ll benchmark it against the market. Thinking of leaving a big national carrier? See our guides on Biffa alternatives, Veolia alternatives and First Mile alternatives.
If you want to control what you spend, it helps to know which levers actually move the price. In order of impact, they are: collection frequency (each additional weekly collection adds cost, so being collected more often than you need is the most common source of overspend); volume and bin size (paying for capacity you don’t fill is money wasted); waste type (general waste is dearer to dispose of than recycling, and food and clinical waste have their own handling costs); location and access (central boroughs, timed collections and awkward access all push prices up); and contract length and terms (rolling contracts with annual uplifts quietly inflate your bill over time). A good comparison optimises all five together rather than just chasing a low headline rate.
Most commercial waste contracts run for a fixed term and then roll over automatically, often with an annual price increase written into the small print. That’s why so many London businesses are quietly overpaying: they signed years ago and have never re-checked the market. Switching is usually straightforward once you know your current contract’s end date and notice period — typically you give notice, we line up a better-value provider, and the new carrier delivers bins and starts collections with minimal disruption. Our guide on how to switch waste providers walks through the detail, and if you’re currently with a large national carrier we have dedicated pages on Biffa, Veolia and First Mile alternatives.
Stratos Environmental exists to take the hassle and the guesswork out of business waste. We’re independent, so we’re not pushing one supplier’s bins — we compare licensed carriers across London and recommend the option that genuinely fits your premises, waste streams and budget. The comparison is free, there’s no obligation, and if you’re already under contract we’ll benchmark your current invoice and tell you honestly whether we can do better. It’s a simple promise: honest advice, better prices, reliable collections.
It depends on your bin size, how often you're collected, and the waste type. As an indicative guide, a 240L general waste bin might cost around £6–£12 per collection and a 1100L bin around £20–£38, excluding VAT and any standing charge. A small business often spends £30–£60 a month, while busy hospitality sites can run into several hundred. The best way to know is to get a free comparison quote.
Yes. Under England's Simpler Recycling rules, workplaces with 10 or more employees have had to separate dry recyclables and food waste from general waste since 31 March 2025, and businesses with fewer than 10 employees must comply by 31 March 2027.
No. Waste produced by a business is commercial waste and must be collected under a separate commercial contract with a registered carrier. Putting business waste in domestic council bins can be an offence.
We arrange collections across all Greater London boroughs through our licensed partner network, from central Westminster and the City to outer areas like Croydon, Kingston and Ealing.
Often the same day once you've chosen a quote. Bin delivery and your first collection are arranged with the provider, with minimal disruption to your business.
You need a waste transfer note for every collection, kept for at least two years, and your carrier must be registered with the Environment Agency. When you book through us, this is handled for you.
Free, no-obligation comparison through our licensed partner network across London and the UK.
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