How to use the Waste Cost Calculator
Answer 6 questions about your construction work and get an instant estimate of your annual waste disposal costs and landfill tax exposure — plus how much you could save with better waste tracking.
Open the Waste Cost CalculatorWhat your result includes
Annual waste disposal cost estimate
A cost range based on your work type and skip volume, using current market rates.
Landfill tax exposure
How much of your disposal spend is landfill tax (£130.75/t standard, April 2026) — avoidable by diverting to recycling.
Potential saving
How much you could save by improving your diversion rate and formalising your tracking.
Step-by-step
Open the Waste Cost Calculator
Go to the free calculator — no account or sign-up required. The 6 questions auto-advance as you select each answer, so it takes under 2 minutes.
Select your type of construction work
Choose the option that best describes your primary work: Groundworks, Fit-out, New-build, Demolition, or Mixed. This determines the typical waste composition and disposal cost benchmarks used in your estimate.
Enter your project scale
Select how many active projects you run at once, then how many skips you use per project per month. These two answers drive the volume calculation — a 10-project contractor using 6–10 skips per project has a very different cost profile to a single-site fit-out contractor.
Describe your current waste practices
Indicate whether you track your diversion rate, and how you currently log Waste Transfer Notes (paper, spreadsheet, software, or not at all). Contractors not tracking diversion tend to have higher landfill exposure — this is reflected in your saving estimate.
Answer honestly based on what you actually do, not what you intend to do. The saving potential shown in your result is based on the gap between your current practice and best practice.
Indicate BREEAM status
Select whether any of your projects are pursuing BREEAM certification. BREEAM projects have mandatory waste diversion targets, which affects the compliance context in your result.
Read your estimate
Your result appears after the final question. It shows an estimated annual waste cost range, your landfill tax exposure, and how much you could save by improving diversion and tracking. Use this as a starting point for conversations with your team or clients about waste cost reduction.
Frequently asked questions
What does the calculator actually estimate?
Your annual waste disposal costs and landfill tax exposure, based on industry benchmarks for your work type and volume. It also estimates potential savings from improving your diversion rate.
How accurate is the estimate?
Indicative — it uses benchmarks, not your actual weighbridge data. Useful for understanding the scale of your exposure and saving potential, not for financial reporting.
What is landfill tax exposure?
The landfill tax embedded in your disposal invoices. Carriers pay it (£130.75/t standard from April 2026) and pass it to you in their charges. Diverting to recycling avoids it entirely.
What diversion rate should I aim for?
Industry benchmark for well-managed sites is 80–90%. BREEAM Wst01 requires 95% for 3 credits, 80% for 2 credits. Sites without formal tracking typically achieve 50–60%.
Does it save my answers?
No — no sign-up, no stored data. To track actual waste costs per project with real movement data, you need a WasteMapper account (free plan available).
How is this different from the Landfill Tax Calculator?
This gives a broad annual estimate from 6 questions. The Landfill Tax Calculator at /tools/landfill-tax-calculator gives a precise figure for a specific tonnage. Use this for overall exposure; use that for a specific load or project.
See your waste cost estimate in under 2 minutes
No sign-up. No card. Just 6 questions and an instant estimate of what your construction waste is costing you.