First Mile is a UK environmental and

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

business based in London. It works with businesses to reduce their climate impact through services such as waste, recycling, and renewable energy.

History

First Mile was founded in 2004 by Bruce Bratley in Islington, North London. In the early days, trucks were parked near Bruce's house and he would often drive them himself to complete weekend collections. The name is an inversion of the “Last Mile” concept associated with the last leg of telecommunications delivery. “First Mile" focuses on the first leg of recycling, collecting it from the end user in as convenient a way as possible, and delivering to local recycling facilities. The company has acquired multiple businesses including part of

Cory Environmental Cory is a recycling and waste management company based in London. Originally founded as William Cory & Son in 1896, the company has operated vessels on the River Thames for more than 125 years, transporting a range of commodities and materials in ...

, Revolution Recycling, All Clear, Paperchasers Birmingham, and Giraffe Recycling. In 2015 the head office moved from

Essex Road railway station Essex Road is a National Rail station in Canonbury in Greater London, England, and is on the Northern City Line between and , down the line from , and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is at the junction of Essex Road, Canonbury Road and ...

to the workspace Screenworks in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, North London. The main depot is located in

Park Royal Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, partly in the London Borough of Brent and partly the London Borough of Ealing. It is the site of the largest business park in London, but despite intensive existing use, the area is, toget ...

, northwest of the city. The company also has another office and depot in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. The company today serves over 27,000 businesses across the UK. In 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic, First Mile provided it's vans to deliver goods to hospitals, charities, and to support a plant start-up to deliver plants destined for waste to UK homes.

Acquisitions

First Mile has acquired a number of other environmental businesses; - Cory Environmental's London waste collection business in 2012 - Revolution Recycling in 2014 - All Clear Recycling in 2013 - Giraffe Recycling in 2020

Technology and innovation

By 2017, First Mile had over 10,000 clients. It has attracted investments from private equity company Growth Capital Partners. Zero emissions electric vans and cargo bikes were also introduced in 2017. Today, the entire fleet of over 70 vehicles is either zero or low-emissions, and the company was ready for ULEZ ahead of its implementation in April 2019. In 2018 the construction of the pre-sorting facility named the Sacktory was completed. Located at the depot in Park Royal, the Sacktory ensures a higher recycling rate by separating mixed recycling materials from general waste. An average of 100 tonnes of waste is processed at the facility every day. In its first year of operations, the Sacktory has prevented 250 tonnes of emissions and helped First Mile reach the Mayor's 65% recycling target for London. The company continues to invest in recycling strategies. It is currently developing its RecycleLab, which will be completed in 2019. The RecycleLab analyses non-traditional materials to find recycling or sustainable end-of-life solutions. It also aims to help brands design products that can remain in the

circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity and CE) is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. CE aims ...

, following the waste management hierarchy developed by the Waste Framework Directive (WFD).

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://thefirstmile.co.uk/ Waste management companies of the United Kingdom Recycling organizations