The business impact of COVID-19

There's lots in the headlines about the Coronavirus and the impact it's having on businesses within the waste and recycling industry.

And, our director of recycling, Paul Rendle-Barnes, recently spoke to to Skip Hire Magazine about this very topic. If you missed the original write-up, read more below...

How has the pandemic affected demand for you in the short term?

Over the last few weeks, we’ve had several sectors feeding their additional plastic waste into our plants, due to high demand from our customers. We’re delighted to be able to aid the UK recycling community at a time of great uncertainty – and to ensure the whole process runs smoothly.

While the automotive field has slowed down over recent weeks – due to supplier shutdowns – the food waste sector is as busy as ever, with predictions from distributors that they will continue to increase capacity, to counter panic-buying.

However, we are on hand and ready to take on this additional requirement, in order to keep the supply chain running effectively.

What is your reaction to the government agreeing to pay up to 80% of workers’ wages?

The devil is in the detail, so it really depends on how easy the solution is to implement. I’m sure it will be an appreciated back-up plan for many businesses, but the process of accessing the funds easily – by those who need it most – must be quick and simple.

How do you see the industrial waste processing sector being affected in the short term?

Short-term, I think we’ll continue to see an increase in demand – especially from the food and drink sector. People are, in the most-part, staying at home and that – coupled with the increase in the stockpiling of products – means a huge increase in food, drink and packaging waste.

The situation is ever-evolving and keeping our employees and their families safe is paramount. While I hope it is not the case, we could see a reduction in labour force across the sector due to the need to self-isolate.

Over the next few weeks, some outcomes will undoubtedly be out of the recycling and waste community’s hands, but here at Indigo, we will continue to operate robust health and safety measures and follow Government recommendations.