This page provides information on our work to monitor and review the bioresources market in England and Wales. Further information about bioresources can be found on the bioresources market page.
As part of the 2019 Price Review, we changed the way we regulate bioresources – a key change was to introduce a separate price control. This separate control covers all bioresources (or sludge) activities: sludge transport, sludge treatment and sludge disposal undertaken by incumbent water and sewerage companies (WASCs). As well as enabling better targeted regulation of bioresources activities, our new approach was aimed at facilitating greater use of markets by WASCs.
Alongside their annual return, WASCs provide information to us on the levels of activity within the market. We have used this information to produce our third market monitoring report, which covers developments in the market from 2017, when we started to collect this information, to 2022. We have presented the findings in the form of an interactive report.
To view the below report in full screen so it’s clearer to read, click the little double-ended arrow at the bottom right-hand side of the Power BI window.
Our findings suggest there is a modest improvement from last year. In particular, it is positive to see what the sludge exported for treatment has increased to 1.7%, however this still remains very low. Companies continue to report a number of barriers to competition e.g. uncertainty over environmental regulations.
Although low level of some market activities persists, we welcome evidence of company collaboration through the innovation fund scheme and an “open market challenge