Compare
An honest comparison, including the rows where we lose.
Three ways buildings handle waste data, compared on the things that decide it. Rows below concede where we are the wrong choice, because a comparison that loses nowhere is not a comparison.
| What decides it | Contractor reports | A broker or consultant | Wastify AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Nothing. The reports arrive with the invoice. | A fee per engagement, repeated per engagement. | A per-building subscription, and an install measured in days. |
| Whose numbers they are | The contractor’s. The company being paid produces the figures it is paid on. | The contractor’s, re-analysed. The source data does not change. | Yours. Weighed on your scale, in your waste room, before collection. |
| Answering “how was this figure produced” | A summary PDF, and an email to the account manager. | A methodology note, and the same email. | Open the figure and walk down to the weighing and its photograph. |
| Tenant recharging | Split by floor area, disputed annually. | A fairer model on paper, still built on estimated inputs. | Split by verified weight, every line traceable to a record. |
| Contamination | Discovered when a load is rejected and billed. | Sampled during site visits, quarterly at best. | Photographed, scored in grams, alerted at your thresholds. |
| Simpler Recycling and DWT evidence | The contractor asserts compliance on your behalf. | A gap analysis, and a report recommending a system. | Stream-level records, EWC-coded, exportable on request. |
| A one-off compliance question | Not their job. | Exactly their job, and they are good at it. | Overkill if the question genuinely only comes once. |
| Time to answer a board question | A request to the contractor, then a wait. | A phone call, then days. | Ask the Living AI and open the figures behind the answer. |
When we are not the answer
If you run one small building with one waste stream and nobody disputes anything, the contractor’s reports and a careful eye will do, and a platform is overhead you do not need yet.
If you need one defensible position for one deadline, a good waste consultant will get you there faster than any software will.
Where this becomes the right choice is when the same questions come back every month, from tenants, auditors and regulators, about more buildings, and somebody has to be able to answer them with evidence rather than with the contractor’s word.
Not sure which of the three you need?
Tell us the estate and the obligation and we will say plainly if this is not it.