Background
Oatley Resources has been moving recyclable materials for suppliers since it was formed over 10 years ago in January 2012. We purchase plastics, fibre, metals and glass products from sites across the UK – ranging from family-owned recycling companies through to multinational waste & environmental services businesses and direct producers of recyclable material.
Business textbooks say that we buy from suppliers and sell to customers, but we treat both as importantly as each other. We focus on developing & growing our relationships with suppliers and potential suppliers as well as providing a premium trading & logistics service when we purchase materials from a site.
You and your materials
Our aim is to understand your business, your needs and your materials. We want to offer solutions for all suppliers, whether your need is a one-off part-load or a multiple load shipment every week.
We try to visit sites as often as possible instead of using emails and photos. This allows us to develop our relationships with our suppliers and also to confirm the grades and qualities of the materials being produced at each site. This quite often includes pre-loading inspection visits and also attending loadings to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Whether your material is destined for recycling in the UK or overseas, knowing the quality and consistency is vital. A lack of focus in this area can lead to load rejections & quality claims by customers, plus a risk of issues with environmental regulators both in the UK and abroad.
We are always open and honest around material quality – where we feel material quality needs some improvements but equally so where we receive positive feedback from reprocessors. Our experience is that by working together, an improvement in quality can not only minimise risk but also add value to materials and ensure regular demand for the products from customers.
Although we are based in the north west of England, we have staff and contractors who are constantly travelling to visit sites and meet with current and potential suppliers – wherever in the UK they are based.
Our reprocessing partners & their requirements
We sell materials to a broad range of reprocessing customers – in the UK and overseas. Our overseas customers are located around the world, including Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, Australia, India and the Far East.
Although exporting material overseas to be recycled sometimes receives negative press, there continues to be insufficient UK recycling capacity to handle the amount of recyclable materials collected. This is in part due to the amount of goods imported into the country. Because most imported goods come already packaged, this means we are also importing cardboard, plastic and metal packaging made outside the UK.
The balance is changing with investments in additional UK recycling infrastructure such as new paper mills and plastic recycling facilities, but as a nation we still rely on a combination of UK and overseas recycling facilities to be able to maximise the amount of our waste that is recycled instead of being landfilled or incinerated.
We can generally offer different options to suppliers if they want their material to be reprocessed in the UK or if they have other company policies around the location of the reprocessing facility. To ensure we can offer competitive pricing across different destinations, we keep a constantly updated database of compliance-checked customers along with details of their recycling processes. This enables us to find a range of suitable reprocessing sites for your particular type and grade of material.
Part of our role is to give confidence to our customers, wherever they are located, that they will receive the right quality and quantity of materials that they are expecting. This is why we place a lot of emphasis on knowing the loading site and knowing the materials being loaded.
Service & Compliance
We have company values centred around providing the best possible service to suppliers and customers based on integrity, honesty, knowledge & quality. We aim to stand out through service excellence and compliance.
Find out more below about how we fulfil our compliance goals and deliver service to you.
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Once our Trading team confirm a purchase with you, you can expect proactive & clear communication from our Service, Logistics & Finance teams.
We aim to send clear and detailed documentation ahead of loading – including compliance & setup documents, Purchase Orders, loading documents and instructions. We issue tailored documentation & instructions depending on whether your material is being transported by curtainsider trailer or shipping container, and whether your material is destined for reprocessing in the UK or overseas.
We will keep in touch with you in the run up to loading as well as on the day itself. Our Supply & Logistics staff will call regularly and are available to help if plans need to change.
After loading, we review the loading documentation and loading photos to ensure smooth movement of the material, especially if the load needs to undergo customs clearance for export.
We pride ourselves in prompt and accurate processing of invoices including a commitment to pay bills on time. To back this up, we enjoy a strong credit rating with mainstream credit checking companies, supported by the fact that we have now been in business for over 10 years. We can also be flexible on payment terms, especially when we start working with new suppliers. We appreciate new suppliers are sometimes nervous when they switch to a new trading company, and for first loads we can offer quick payment – even on the day of loading if required.
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There are plenty of media reports about illegal waste dumping – both here and elsewhere in the world. Therefore wherever our reprocessing customers are based, we take all steps to make sure that the movement complies with regulatory requirements – be it in the UK, EU or further afield.
We are regulated mainly by the Environment Agency (EA), with different sections of the EA overseeing different aspects of our activities and operations. These include Producer Responsibility Regulatory Services, Waste Regimes Operational Services & International Waste Shipments.
We are an Accredited Exporter of UK Packaging Waste, as well as an EA-registered Waste Carrier / Broker / Dealer. To satisfy Northern Irish regulations, we are also separately registered by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. For suppliers in each of the devolved nations, rules and requirements can differ slightly, and so we engage with all environmental agencies and authorities across the UK.
With increasing public awareness of environmental issues and demands for action to protect the planet, governments around the world are increasing the level of regulation of the waste & recycling industry. Although recycling should be seen as part of the solution not the problem, it is still imperative that waste is transported and recycled in a professional and efficient way, fully complying with requirements & regulations in place for each stage of the process. This is especially the case for the export of plastic materials for recycling overseas. Authorities are monitoring waste shipments with an ever-increasing level of scrutiny.
Oatley prides itself in the area of environmental & technical knowledge. We have used these skills and experience to develop strong internal compliance systems but can also provide help & advice to both suppliers and customers wherever they are located. We aim to provide the best value solution, while at the same time giving the supplier peace of mind that the material will be reprocessed to meet compliance requirements.
Our compliance system records all details of reprocessing customers, including copies of permits, licences, inspections and other documentation. Overseas sites also need to be approved by the Environment Agency to confirm their capability to recycle packaging waste. The system flags sites where the licence or EA approval might be about to expire or has already expired and prevents us confirming any new movements of material to sites before renewed approvals are on record.
We believe in transparency in our compliance records and systems. As well as being able to share end destinations with suppliers, we can also provide copies of permits, EA approvals and delivery records from our nominated reprocessors.
A vital part of our compliance system is the sampling and inspection of materials at suppliers’ loading sites. This is required as part of our Accredited Exporter Registration issued by the EA. Although this can be time consuming, it allows us to maintain our records as well as giving us a first-hand chance to comprehensively check the materials. In keeping with our commitment to transparency, we are always keen to share our site report and findings with the site operators.
Can We Help?
If you collect, process or generate recyclable materials and you’re interested in us proposing pricing on your products or our advice on options to recycle different grades, then please contact us to discuss the details or to arrange a site visit. We are equally happy to offer pricing for a single load or to end regular pricing on a weekly or monthly basis.
Our Services
Suppliers
We purchase plastics, fibre, metals and glass products from UK sites, helping suppliers meet quality standards and paying premium prices for products. Our compliance system gives suppliers peace of mind that their products are recycled at licenced reprocessors.
Customers
From our network of UK suppliers, we procure specific products and qualities for each of our customers – whether they are based in the UK, mainland Europe or further afield in India, USA or the Far East. Our inspection processes ensure that customers have confidence that they will receive the products and quality that they ordered.
Logistics & Export Documentation Services
Some suppliers and customers prefer to deal direct with each other, but need specialist assistance on transport and shipping, arranging export documentation, loading and pre-loading inspections and environmental compliance.
Products We Trade
Plastic
We handle a wide range of baled plastic bottle and film grades, bulk bags, polystyrene and specification regrinds and pellets, connecting UK suppliers with domestic and overseas customers.
Fibre
Whether its bulk quantities of cardboard and mixed papers, or more specialist grades such as cores, kraft sacks, or tissue scrap, we can give you a secure solution for your buying or selling needs.
Glass & Metals
We handle various grades and qualities of sorted steel and aluminium cans from household recycling, as well as glass from post-industrial and post-consumer sources.