First Mile Alternatives & Price Comparison

First Mile is a well-known, London-founded waste and recycling company popular with smaller businesses for its sack-based, bin-free service. It’s a good fit for many city-centre SMEs with no room for wheelie bins — but it isn’t the only option, and depending on your volumes and location a different provider or a bin-based service may work out better value. Stratos Environmental compares the whole market so you can choose what genuinely suits you.

Why businesses look at First Mile alternatives

• Volume economics — sack-based pricing is convenient for low volumes, but higher-volume sites can sometimes save with a bin or FEL-based service.
• Price benchmarking — to check the per-sack cost still stacks up as your business grows.
• Service mix — some businesses need containers, specialist streams or frequencies that suit a different provider.
• Coverage — outside the busiest city centres, other carriers may offer better value.

How we compare

We’re independent, so we’ll give you a straight comparison rather than a sales pitch. Upload your current First Mile invoice and we’ll benchmark it against our licensed partner network — including both sack-based and bin-based options — and tell you honestly whether we can beat it. If First Mile is the best fit for your setup, we’ll say so.

Sacks or bins — the right fit for your space

The best solution depends heavily on how much waste you produce and how much storage you have. For a tiny central-London office, sacks may be ideal; for a busy restaurant or a site with a yard, bins or an FEL container often cost less per kilo. We’ll help you weigh it up. See our bin size guide and prices guide for context.

Switching is simple

If you switch, we handle the setup with your new provider. Read how to switch waste providers, and compare Biffa and Veolia alternatives too.

Frequently asked questions