passionate about finding solutions

Our Services

Due Diligence and investment optimisation

Due Diligence and Investment Optimisation

We’re recognised experts in UK and overseas waste and recycling markets, helping our clients understand investment risks and opportunities. 

Working with vendors and buyers, we provide commercial due diligence for new projects and transactions involving waste recovery and recycling infrastructure.

Venture and early stage diligence reports 

We provide concise, high-level summary diligence reports for venture and impact investors. These cover key market, commercial, technical and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) / sustainability aspects of early stage investment targets. Using our experience and sector expertise, we support deal teams and investment boards to select key targets. We help make investment decisions on circular material flow and energy transition technologies, business concepts and start-ups.  

Market, technology and plant portfolio evaluation  

We provide detailed assessments for a wide range of waste sorting, recycling and degradation, as well as renewable energy technologies. Using our extensive experience, we provide technology options for specific applications, markets and waste materials, working environments and waste-derived outputs. 

Our specialist experience covers:  

  • novel sorting and separation 

  • plastic and other key material recycling options  

  • composting and anaerobic digestion 

  • waste-to-energy and ‘waste to X’ projects  

  • combustion, pyrolysis and gasification  

  • production of sustainable fuels (including hydrogen, SAF and other molecules)

Technical and commercial due diligence for new projects 

We review and evaluate business strategies and operational plans focusing on technology selection and developing new waste facilities and infrastructure. By showing how these plans and strategies support circular material flows and green energy/fuel transition, developers and investors can accurately assess a solution’s feasibility and performance from a technical and commercial point of view, and in the context of specific markets and regulatory frameworks.  

Mergers and acquisition  

From the first market analysis right through to the transaction and to the final deal stage, we support international vendors and buyers. This means offering commercial and technical advice, diligence documents and independent, ad-hoc support to the client’s teams and advisors. 

Contact our Service Leads

Stephen Wise

Claudia Amos

feedstock and offtake market evaluations 

Feedstock and market evaluations

We are experts in waste markets in the UK and Europe and can support clients to understand the quantity, composition and sources of feedstock for new and existing plants. This ranges from market assessments, to feedstock procurement support and contracting advice.

We combine market leading expertise in waste data, policy and regulation to provide clients with a robust understanding of the feedstock and offtake markets.

Professional market analysis and evaluation 

We carry out expert impact analysis of the market structure, competitive pressures, key market pricing and costing analysis as well as relevant market opportunities and business options.  

Our experienced team provides concise information on historical, existing, and future market forecasts. This supports our clients’ decision-making processes, informs their potential investment targets, supports in-deal negotiations and financial modelling and gives them relevant background information for business strategies and execution. 

We provide specialist market studies that take into account:  

  • market size and structure (TAM, SAM and SOM) 

  • competitor analysis  

  • evaluation of potential disrupters 

  • trend analysis of key regulatory, commercial and technical drivers 

  • assessment of cost and revenue drivers impacting feedstock and offtake pricing 

Technology selection and process optimisation

We are regularly asked to work alongside our client’s operational and management teams to improve the day-to-day performance of their facilities. As well as optimising processing efficiency, we provide individual and group training to ensure that employees have the skills they need to effectively manage the process for which they are responsible. 

We can also help at the start of a project to: 

  • Identify and evaluate suitable waste and biomass processing technology options and suppliers 

  • Assess existing reference plants, concepts and ideas for their commercial and technical viability

Procurement and contracting 

We provide commercial and technical advice to assist procurement bodies and bidders in selecting and developing waste, recycling and renewable energy technology or solutions.  

Our experts also have extensive experience in reviewing feedstock contracts and recommending potential improvements either before the agreement is activated or at re-negotiation points. This includes providing an independent view of the market at the time and the potential impact of things like regulatory changes over the contract’s term. 

Offtake markets and traceability evaluation (end of waste assessments)

We provide an overview of outtake markets for a range of products and end-of-waste advice for materials that aren’t covered by resource frameworks. This includes supporting our clients to engage with regulators and conduct in-house assessments of whether the material has fully met end-of-waste tests. It’s a step that’s often overlooked by project developers who may not know if a product can legally remain as waste, which restricts markets and value.  

We have experience working across a wide range of conventional and less conventional offtake materials, providing input into how they fit within the value chain from both a commercial and environmental point of view. These materials include:  

  • dry recyclables (paper, card, metals, plastics and glass) 

  • various specifications of polymers  

  • waste wood 

  • organics 

  • products derived from more novel waste 

  • fuels  

  • product technologies  

Feedstock assessments and strategy development 

Residual waste, recyclable and organic feedstocks are crucial for viable financing and operation of Energy from Waste (EFW), recycled / low carbon fuels, ‘waste to X’; recycling and biomass facilities.  

We understand that feedstock supply chains and pricing are becoming more complex and competitive. This is because demand for waste-derived feedstock is increasing as ‘hard to decarbonise’ sectors such as transport and off-grid heating strive to decarbonise.  

We provide practical and experienced advice on  

  • developing feedstock strategies for new infrastructure 

  • identifying suppliers  

  • identifying pre-treatment partners  

  • optimising existing feedstock plans for operational plants  

  • improving viability and sustainability in a changing regulatory environment

Contact our Service Leads

Jamie Warmington

Simone Aplin

policy, regulation and compliance

Policy, regulation and compliance 

With fast-moving policy and regulation impacting all areas of our sector, we help our clients evaluate and deliver: 

  • compliance with waste and environmental legislation  

  • carbon reduction and net zero solutions  

  • Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) requirements  

  • EMS and reporting commitments 

Policy and reporting requirements  

To create a low-carbon circular economy, the rest of this decade will be defined by applying new policies including digital waste tracking, extended producer responsibility (EPR), Simpler Recycling, deposit return schemes and net zero. 

We can help you understand how these changes will impact your business or acquisition from both an operational and commercial perspective. 

Auditing and compliance for feedstock and outputs 

All our team members are experienced auditors. We help our clients assess compliance against waste management legislation, contracts and environmental management standards. We provide support with: 

  • compliance auditing to both ensure compliance and understand the consequences of non-compliance when considering mergers or acquisitions, or partnerships with operators 

  • Fuel and feedstock auditing to ensure compliance with specifications in terms of chemical characteristics, form, and contamination levels (extending to full chain audits where suppliers draw waste from multiple sources) 

  • PRN accreditation, including required documentation, systems, quality control processes and monitoring to achieve accreditation and compliance 

  • Carbon quantification and reporting quantifying carbon emissions, setting carbon reduction / net zero targets and monitoring progress 

Carbon reduction and net zero solutions development

Carbon policy presents both increased risks and opportunities to businesses managing waste. We help our clients: 

  • quantify carbon emissions, set achievable reduction targets and monitor progress 

  • understand the commercial impact of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) 

  • identify carbon mitigation actions to reduce emissions and exposure to carbon pricing  

  • quantify the carbon savings of recycled commodities and low-carbon/recycled fuels  

  • maximise value in the supply chain .

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) 

All permitted waste management operations must maintain an up-to-date EMS. We help our clients draft, audit and update the EMS for their sites. 

Contact our Service Leads

Stephen Wise

Simone Aplin

facilitating circular material flows 

Facilitating circular material flows

A focus on recycling is no longer enough if we’re going to achieve net zero and maximise circular material flows. The waste sector must now consider a range of other metrics to facilitate this transition such as water, biodiversity, equity and economic value recovery.  

The environmental credentials of waste flows, treatment technologies and how materials circulate back to secondary commodities are becoming more pivotal to investment decisions.  

Understanding the carbon impacts of recycling and biodegradation 

Understanding the impacts of recycling processes across the full product life cycle and how these are increasingly tied to policy and regulatory regimes is critical. 

With experience in working with brands, recyclers and waste to fuel technologies, we know how to communicate products’ carbon savings to customers. Navigating the challenges of a disparate supply chains and policy dynamics, we help our clients understand the potential impacts of carbon on business models, optimise them and create value.  

Assess, access and implement circular material flows  

We understand the waste flows that can create successful circular material loops. Showing evidence for circular material and business strategies is the next step to meet targets, substantiate green claims and improve resource efficiency to achieve net zero. 

We support brands and manufacturers to identify and implement the best options for their products and operations including: 

  • Where collection systems exist – improving packaging or product design and material selection to ensure they are easily recovered in sorting and recycling technologies 

  • Where collection infrastructure is poor or the design makes packaging or products difficult to recycle through available waste management infrastructure, custom take-back schemes are an option    

Enable and manage cross-value chain collaboration and industry platforms 

Circular material flows are created collaboratively along the supply chain, across industry sectors and sometimes waste types. In some cases, these are organised as part of a deposit return or extended producer responsibility scheme, which creates the financial, admin and organisational infrastructure.  

As part of private sector efforts to create efficient and credible circular supply chains, businesses need these platforms, forums and collaborative groups much earlier in the process – ahead of regulations and policies. We support this by: 

  • setting up pre-competitive platforms 

  • developing terms of reference with international stakeholders 

  • managing multi-stakeholder groups to create deliverables and outcomes, driving circular material flow development and supporting efficient recycling and biodegradation (composting and anaerobic digestion) of waste into new viable and safe products. 

Identify technology and infrastructure options

We’re at the forefront of traditional and innovative waste management options to access, create and trace circular material flows. Our compliance and diligence teams have on-site experience in sorting, mechanical and chemical recycling, biodegradation (composting, anaerobic digestion) and waste-to-energy and waste-to-X plants. That allows us to offer a unique level of expertise to our clients. 

Through our ongoing work with novel waste technologies, circular infrastructure projects and waste market investments, we have a unique understanding of new circular pathways and innovations in collecting and treating waste.  

We provide independent advice on creating new output products (oils, fuels, products) and their carbon efficiency, viability and circularity. At the same time, we assess the level of technical and commercial risk that goes with a particular technology or waste treatment approach. This takes into account its specific markets and regulatory environment. We advise venture capitalists, brands and waste management companies as well as the technology developers themselves.  

A circular economy is complicated and requires a wide range of approaches for technology options, developers and financing to create the infrastructure we need to meet public and private recycling and net-zero targets. 

Contact our Service Leads

Jamie Warmington

Claudia Amos

Expert Witness

Expert witness 

Our experienced and tested expert witnesses provide written and verbal evidence in both criminal and civil disputes. 

We not only support our clients when things go wrong, but we also offer advice in the early stages of an alleged non-compliance or a dispute. Acting early can avoid escalation and independent, expert input at this stage can save time and cost.  

We offer support on aspects of waste regulation and permitting, contractual disputes, infrastructure developments, feedstock and fuel disputes, and non-performance, including:  

  • criminal and civil waste sector matters  

  • aspects of waste regulation and permitting  

  • historic or ongoing contractual disputes  

  • issues relating to new and existing infrastructure, feedstock and fuel disputes, and non-performance  

We provide legal teams with expert opinions on a wide range of technical and operational issues relating to waste regulation, contracts, technology and treatment processes within the waste, recycling, and renewable energy sectors. 

Our expert witnesses 

Both Simone Aplin and Stephen Wise act as expert witnesses with experience in: 

  • Criminal matters – enforcement action relating to a wide range of alleged illegal waste management activities including sentencing reports on environmental impact (including fires) and POCA assessments on avoided cost of disposal, site clearance etc.   

  • Civil disputes – contractual disputes relating to service and technology procurement, non-conformance of waste or fuel received at a facility, project development and technology performance. 

Contact our Service Leads

Simone Aplin

Stephen Wise