Waste stoush leaves small businesses on brink of collapse

A major conflict playing out in the NSW waste industry could cripple small businesses and further cement giant companies’ grip on the market.

Small skip bin companies across Sydney say they are being priced out by “uncompetitive” behaviour that is now being referred by a regulator to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Earlier this year the NSW waste industry was rocked by changes proposed by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to test for potentially deadly contaminants in repurposed waste being used in playgrounds, sportsfields and other landscaping.

A fierce and vocal industry pushback claimed the new testing regimen would result in hundreds of job losses and raise the cost of skip bin hire through the roof.

This week, under immense pressure from operators, the EPA dumped the idea, saying instead of testing it would adopt an education approach about the importance of not putting dangerous materials like asbestos in skip bins.

The EPA said in a statement it would also “increase monitoring and work closely with industry to improve compliance with the existing rules and ensure companies understand and meet their obligations, including managing asbestos.”

It’s a win for the waste operators but potentially not for the environment, as the EPA’s own testing showed more than half of facilities producing recovered soil fines were repurposing material containing asbestos, micro plastics and other contaminants.

Small companies that hire out skip bins in NSW are being put out of business by waste facilities’ prices.

Amid the dispute, small skip bin companies are accusing larger operators of taking advantage of the situation to deliberately raise prices and run them out of business.

Coinciding with its campaign against the proposed EPA changes, waste giant Bingo this week introduced a major price increase of up to $65 a tonne on mixed waste at some of its facilities.

It also scrapped the practice of having the option to charge mixed heavy waste by the cubic metre and moved to charge by the tonne at the same rate as landfill – further increasing prices.

The company said the increases were “necessary” due to “significant financial, regulatory, and environmental challenges facing the NSW waste industry”.

While facility operators like Bingo can charge increasing amounts to dump and process waste, their own skips are not susceptible to the same price hikes, enabling them to undercut the competition.

Companies that trade in skip bin hire alone, and do not own waste facilities, claim they have been squeezed between the environmental regulator and waste facilities and their days are numbered.

Bingo NSW business and development chief executive John Hassett faced angry questioning from small business owners at an industry meeting on Thursday evening.

Frustration is being levelled at Sydney’s largest waste facility operator, Bingo Industries. Picture: Bingo

Mr Hassett denied the price increases were linked to the proposed EPA changes despite the company bringing forward the standard industry price increase by seven weeks and explicitly mentioning the EPA proposal in material announcing the changes.

Several small operators said their businesses would collapse under the new pricing regimen.

They accused Bingo of not raising its own skip prices despite claiming the cost of operating had gone up across the board due to increases in the price of labour, fuel, and materials.

“If the changes are costing them so much that they have to increase their rates through the roof, how come they are selling bins cheaper now than they were a month ago?” a spokesperson for newly formed representative group Waste Transporters NSW said.

Some said they felt let down by the company, which had begun as a reliable partner and abandoned them as it grew, with one operator describing it as a “kick in the guts”.

“When I came into the industry Bingo for me was the main player. I built my business around Bingo,” they said.

“They were expanding and they gave us reassurances that ‘we’re a family, we’ll grow together. You tip here, we’ll look after you guys’.

“That’s been spoken about since the very ground level. We were told loyalty mattered. Now because of the price increase, you’ve priced me out of the market.”

The Waste Transporters NSW spokesperson said the ultimate losers would be waste generators – from builders and construction companies to any household looking to hire a skip for moving or renovations.

“Once we are dead, why would they give cheap rates?” they said.

The EPA has revealed it is in the process of referring Bingo to the ACCC over this week’s price increases.

Bingo owns the lion’s share of waste facilities across Sydney. Picture: Bingo

It is not the first time the ACCC has come knocking at Bingo’s door as the multi-billion dollar company grows its already considerable influence across Sydney.

When Bingo acquired rival waste company Dial-a-dump in 2019, the ACCC stepped in, forcing the company to divest one of its facilities in Banksmeadow. It sold to CPE Capital for a less than expected $50m.

The ACCC’s concerns were based on laws that prohibit acquisitions likely to result in “substantially lessening competition in any market”.

“Post-acquisition, Bingo would be the largest building and demolition waste collector and processor and own a substantial amount of dry landfill capacity in Sydney,” ACCC chair Rod Sims said at the time.

“We are concerned about the effect of the proposed acquisition in relation to processing, landfill and collections.”

He said with no substantial competitors, particularly in the Eastern Suburbs and inner Sydney, fears were the acquisition would lead to higher gate fees.

“Collectors rely on access to processing facilities at competitive rates to compete for customers,” he said.

Last year, financial services giant Macquarie purchased Bingo through one of its investment funds for a reported $2.3bn.

CPE Capital was reported to be primed to undertake the purchase of Bingo alongside Macquarie but later disappeared from the deal.

Bingo and the ACCC both declined to comment publicly on the latest matter.