Moray Waste Busters: It's all about "convenience and affordability"
A grassroots initiative encouraging Moray residents to donate unwanted possessions for resale has created a thriving circular enterprise. And the key to success for Moray Waste Busters is an unwavering business focus.
Enterprise. Acumen. Growth.
“Our model works because we approach it very much as a business,” says Phil Mills, General Manager at Moray Waste Busters. “We’re a social enterprise – and the ‘enterprise’ part is just as important as the ‘social’ part. Without a strong business foundation, the social side can’t exist.”
Spotting an opportunity
Moray Waste Busters began more than 20 years ago when a group of volunteers started a composting project at their local council recycling facility in Forres. But while that didn’t really take off, their location led to another idea. “They noticed that people were throwing away perfectly good items,” says Phil. “So they started asking if people would donate these items to support the composting. Then they began to realise the full potential of reuse. Over time, the composting dropped away and the focus shifted entirely to reuse. And this was well ahead of the curve – long before reuse became mainstream.”
Convenience is key
The concept today is simple. “If you remove friction from people’s lives, there’s an opportunity to provide a successful service,” says Phil. “Green shaming only pushes people away – the key to changing behaviour is convenience. We make donating and buying as easy as possible. Being located at the Household Waste Recycling Centre makes it simple for people to bring everything in one go and donate reusable items instead of throwing them away.
Value drives sales
“Affordability is another part of it – people are more likely to buy second hand when it’s good value. Interestingly, the people who donate to us are often the same people who buy from us, and they cover all demographics. What drives it isn’t just environmental awareness – it’s the sense of value. And it’s the same on the retail side. We have lots of sofas and large furniture. What stops people buying them? They can’t get them home. So we deliver – and we deliver for free.”
Business growth
Phil earned a business degree in the 1980s, developed his own small business as a cabinet maker and then moved from Manchester to Moray with his family. After becoming a househusband, he began volunteering with Waste Busters, took a job with them and then became General Manager 10 years ago.
Continued independence
During that time the team has grown to 30 paid staff (the equivalent to 22 full-time roles) and around a dozen regular volunteers each week. “And we’re still growing,” says Phil. “We’re now opening a second site, which is really exciting. All of the team are on the Real Living Wage or above and as we grow, more professional roles are emerging, such as finance, HR and marketing. We’ve been self-sustaining for years, operating largely without grants, and donating any surplus funds to schools, community groups, and educational outreach. As we expand, we’re calling in some long-overdue support, but our goal is to continue running as an independent, sustainable business.
“We do this by exploring as many retail opportunities as possible,” adds Phil. “For instance, if a team member suggests a reasonable idea for boosting sales, we try it. Many of these ideas are now part of our overall sales strategy, such as specialist pop-up shops on site, selling locally on social media, and national sales on eBay.”
Site expansion
The supply and demand is clearly there. “We sell around 300,000 items a year, and probably handle close to a million,” he says. “Our annual turnover is about £700,000, and we expect that to grow significantly once the new site opens – hopefully up to around £2m within a few years. We’re overwhelmed with donations, which is partly why we need the new site. The model works particularly well in rural areas where space is more affordable – our new site is 22,000 square feet with 150 parking spaces, which is something we’d never find in a city.”
Legislation is needed
And much as Phil would like to see similar initiatives spring up across Scotland, he appreciates that his model is not necessarily an easy one to duplicate. “We kind of snuck in years ago with the composting project and the business gradually evolved from there,” he says. “I’m sure there’s an appetite for it elsewhere, but it does require some risk-taking and commitment from local authorities to get it off the ground – and I understand that they have other priorities. There are also issues around site security, insurance, and health and safety. It can be a headache, and they may have had their fingers burnt before.
The future is bright
“Without clear legislation requiring action from local authorities on this, they’re understandably going to prioritise things that they do have legal commitments for. But I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and excited about what’s next. The future looks bright for reuse – and we’re determined to keep leading the way.”
What’s Phil’s advice to any organisation wishing to embrace circular practices?
“Start by getting involved in simple ways such as donating unsold or returned items. As well as supporting ESG goals, there are potential tax benefits. And once you start thinking about circular principles, you can start to see business opportunities.”