Over the last three years, the waste industry has undergone some radical changes. Where commercial and municipal waste used to be disposed of at landfill sites, Government legislation and policy, in line with EU Landfill Directive targets, climate change goals and biodiversity action plans, has set out to reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites and increase the amount of waste being recycled. The benefits of this will include a reduction of wind-blown litter, liquid leachate and vermin at landfill sites, as well as a decrease in greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide which can kill surface vegetation and increase global warming.
Most of the leading waste organisations have partnered with de Poel, benefiting from their vendor neutral position.
Further challenges presented themselves as to cope with the recession, many agencies began cutting corners on worker-checks, manipulating pay to candidates, and upping their margins. Already battling with tough trading conditions and ambitious Government recycling targets (the 1999 Landfill Directive set a target to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill by 75% of that produced in 1995, by 2010), this presented a series of problems for waste management firms employing thousands of temporary agency workers. Luckily those working with de Poel were in a strong position to respond to agency cost-cutting strategies, with a standardized rate matrix and formal service level agreements already in place.
The use of temporary agency workers will continue to play a pivotal role within the waste industry throughout 2010 as waste management firms concentrate on developing further innovative approaches to reducing pollution and maintaining biodiversity. But with tight health and safety legislation in place and pressures to keep costs down in order to cope with new landfill taxation, the need to improve control of their temporary workforce will be more important than ever.
Waste companies must improve their control and indeed cost of the temporary workforce, which is often fragmented, if they are to be successful during 2010.
Unsurprisingly, the waste industry has borne the brunt of recent Government action to achieve these objectives. Not only have they been burdened with the pressure of developing innovative ways to dispose of waste more efficiently, but they now have the added worry of increasing health and safety risks and increased costs. Respectively, whilst the majority of accidents and fatalities occur within refuse collection and recycling, material recycling facilities (MRFs) can be expensive to run and safety and private protective equipment (PPE) is costly to purchase. Adding to the cost implications, the Government made changes to landfill tax legislation in September last year, so that any material still sent to landfill sites to be disposed of as waste or used for a number of other purposes would be subject to landfill tax.
The recession has only intensified problems for waste companies, who, having begun to grow their businesses through selling on recyclable materials for profit, have struggled during tough trading conditions.
In light of the developments within the waste industry, the need for temporary agency workers has massively increased. Specifically, the replacement of landfills with incinerators and MRFs which require waste to be sorted manually, alongside further landfill regulations compelling all waste to be pre-treated before it is disposed of and ongoing needs for leachate management, has amplified the need for staff. Indeed, as 2010 emerges as a focus-year for action on climate change, waste management firms are now under an immense amount of pressure to compete with rival companies in the development of effective and safe recycling facilities, technologies and processes, whilst retaining the satisfaction of their customers - both commercial and municipal and at home and abroad.
Required skill sets include anything and everything from being comfortable with industry terminology, to managing hazardous waste, dealing with waste containers, operating refuse vehicles, training in health and safety and managing large-scale operations and contracts.
Waste management covers a whole spectrum of services from cleaning streets, integrating waste disposal, recycling, business and waste disposal, landfill engineering, civic amenity, site management to keeping businesses in line with waste regulations. As a result they use a considerable amount of temporary agency workers at a variety of levels.
de Poel is the UK's number one purchaser of temporary agency labour in the UK and within the waste management sector, specialising in the procurement and management of temporary agency labour. We help companies to optimise their relationships with recruitment agencies, adding value, saving money, and improving standards across the use of temporary agency labour. Our web-based system e-tips® reduces administration and produces a wealth of real-time management information, enabling companies to manage and control their temporary agency labour more efficiently.
Playing a vital role in everyday society, the waste industry is under a massive amount of pressure to ensure that costs are kept down, quality staff are employed and that important regulations regarding health and safety are adhered to. As a massive employer of temporary agency workers, with millions of people working in administration departments, front line management roles, driving and maintenance work, most of the biggest players in the waste management sector have come to rely on de Poel to make certain that these key objectives are met.
"I am delighted with the management information that we have access to through e-tips® which has enabled us to really focus on problem areas and to improve the accuracy of our monthly accounting."
