Biffa Careers: Hazardous Waste Chemist in Wednesbury

Biffa has advertised a full-time, on-site Chemist post at its Wednesbury Hazardous Waste Facility. The role is specifically described as Chemist – Hazardous Treatment & Transfer and centres on the controlled handling of hazardous material from its arrival at the facility to its compliant disposition. It combines chemical judgement with operational coordination in a facility where health, safety, environmental compliance and dependable handling of materials are central to the day-to-day work.

For a chemist with relevant hazardous-waste or chemical-manufacturing experience, this Wednesbury position brings together assessment work, treatment advice, stock control and collaboration with transport colleagues. Biffa lists a minimum HNC Chemistry qualification and asks for a sound grasp of chemical process safety. The published working pattern alternates Monday–Friday hours across two weeks, with the post based on site rather than remotely. It is a role in which technical analysis must be applied to the practical flow of material and the requirements of customers, colleagues and regulators.

Opportunity Details

Overview of the Vacancy

Location, Sector, and Role Context

The advertised workplace is the Wednesbury Hazardous Waste Facility in the West Midlands. Biffa describes the core purpose as active oversight and coordination of each hazardous-waste stream through acceptance, safe storage, processing and final disposal. Materials must be assessed and managed in line with regulatory standards, with health, safety and environmental compliance given clear priority. The work therefore spans the practical movement of incoming and outgoing waste, the judgement needed to select suitable treatment approaches, and careful attention to facility standards.

Daily work is planned around service demands, safe performance and efficient operations. The published duties include examining sales samples, advising on treatment options and providing customer quotations, alongside managing waste and consumable inventory within budgeted costs. The Chemist also works with Transport on inputs and outputs, while maintaining regulatory compliance and customer service-level fulfilment. The alternating Monday–Friday pattern is 7 am to 4 pm in the first week and 9 am to 6 pm in the second, making the advertised schedule a defined on-site operational arrangement.

This position is not presented as laboratory work in isolation. Biffa expects the appointed person to plan and prioritise operational activity, strengthen the health, safety and environmental culture through example, uphold housekeeping standards and apply company policies and procedures. UK travel may be needed for business meetings and project work at other locations. That blend of site responsibility, analytical work and cross-functional coordination is the practical context for the hazardous treatment and transfer specialism. It also explains why the advert combines scientific qualifications with organisation, communication and the ability to respond appropriately to monitored data.

About the Employer: Biffa

Organization and Relevant Services

Verified Employer Overview

Biffa is a UK waste-management organisation with more than a century of experience in the sector, according to its corporate information. Its stated purpose is to change the way people think about waste, with an emphasis on reducing the environmental impact of material that might otherwise be discarded. The organisation describes sustainable waste-management solutions designed for the UK and frames its activity around enabling a more circular economy. Its corporate information also describes a continuing focus on the reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery of resources.

Its official materials describe work with businesses, local authorities and communities to prevent, reduce, redistribute, recycle and recover more. Biffa’s services cover the waste supply chain, from surplus redistribution and collection through to recycling and recovery. The company also identifies specialist solutions for hazardous material and consultancy support intended to help organisations prevent, reduce, recycle and recover more. That published service context is directly relevant to a site-based Chemist role responsible for ensuring that hazardous material is assessed, processed and disposed of in a controlled, compliant manner.

Professional Setting and Role Context

Work Environment, Operations, and Facilities

The Wednesbury facility is the named workplace for this vacancy rather than a general regional allocation. Within that setting, the Chemist supports secure waste management from entry to disposal and is expected to keep inputs and outputs aligned with regulatory standards. Biffa’s vacancy also links cost control and operational efficiency with compliance, so the position calls for someone who can maintain careful process oversight while responding to practical service requirements.

Biffa’s careers information describes a working environment that values different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds. Its general careers material also sets out a Safer Together approach built around collective responsibility for the safety of employees, contractors, customers and the public. Company-wide benefits information refers to leave, pension-related and health arrangements, insurance, employee discounts and Cycle2Work, with eligibility and terms determined by the employer. These are general careers-page statements rather than a vacancy-specific package, and they do not alter the specific employment facts published for this Chemist post.

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Open Positions

1. Chemist - Hazardous Treatment & Transfer

Official title: Chemist - Hazardous Treatment & Transfer

Location: Wednesbury Hazardous Waste Facility, Wednesbury | Employment information: On-site, full time; Monday–Friday alternating weekly hours

The position coordinates hazardous-waste handling at the Wednesbury facility, from incoming material through treatment activity and compliant disposal. It requires a practical understanding of process safety and an organised approach to operational priorities. Alongside compliance work, the appointed Chemist will analyse sales samples, contribute treatment advice and work with colleagues who manage the movement of material into and out of the operation. Cost awareness, accurate stock control and effective housekeeping sit alongside the chemical and regulatory elements of the work.

Responsibilities

• Plan and prioritise daily activity in response to service demands while maintaining safe, efficient and compliant performance.
• Manage hazardous waste from its receipt at the facility through safe processing and final disposal.
• Promote a strong health, safety and environmental culture through day-to-day conduct and decisions.
• Maintain secure waste management from entry through disposal, balancing company and customer requirements with cost awareness.
• Keep waste inputs and outputs compliant with the relevant regulatory standards.
• Analyse sales samples, advise on treatment options and prepare customer quotations.
• Control stock and inventory of waste and consumables within the stated budgeted costs.
• Maintain housekeeping standards, apply company policies and coordinate inputs and outputs with Transport.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Chemist within a hazardous-waste management business or a chemical/manufacturing industry.
• A minimum HNC Chemistry qualification.
• A Hazardous Treatment & Transfer CoTC is desirable, but the advert does not state that it is essential.
• Knowledge of working in a time-critical hazardous-waste processing environment is described as ideal.
• The official application form includes a screening question about a degree, or equivalent, in a Chemistry-related science or Chemical Engineering.

Skills and Competencies

• A comprehensive understanding of chemical process safety.
• Analytical capability to measure and monitor data, then take appropriate action.
• An organised method of simplifying complex issues.
• Ability to adapt priorities to operational service demands without losing compliance focus.
• Clear communication when advising on treatment options and providing quotations.
• Flexibility for business meetings and project tasks at other locations within the United Kingdom.

Benefits and Employment Information

• The vacancy is published as an on-site, full-time position at the Wednesbury Hazardous Waste Facility.
• The stated working pattern is Monday–Friday, alternating between 7 am–4 pm and 9 am–6 pm across two weeks.
• The vacancy does not publish a salary figure or a role-specific benefits package.
• Biffa’s general careers information lists paid holiday plus bank holidays, pension and salary-saver arrangements, healthcare plans, life assurance, employee discounts and Cycle2Work; eligibility and terms are determined by the employer.
• No sponsorship policy is published in the vacancy. The official form includes a question about British passport, birth certificate or settlement-visa status.

Application Guidance

Prepare a Focused Application

CV, Evidence, Documents, and Interview Preparation

The following is general preparation guidance, not an extra set of employer requirements. A useful application for this type of hazardous-waste Chemist position makes the connection between prior work and the published duties: handling and assessing materials, operating within safety and environmental controls, using data to make decisions, and cooperating with transport or operational colleagues. Present experience accurately, using examples that explain the situation, the action taken and the practical outcome without disclosing confidential client information.

The job-specific form asks for personal information and a résumé, then includes role-related screening questions. Before beginning, prepare a current CV and check that qualifications and relevant chemistry experience are easy to locate. Where a CoTC or experience of time-critical hazardous-waste processing is held, distinguish it clearly as supporting evidence rather than implying it is mandatory. Keep copies of submitted material and be ready to discuss safe working, chemical process safety, prioritisation and treatment advice in concrete terms if invited to a later stage.

• Use the CV profile to state the type of chemical, manufacturing or hazardous-waste environment in which experience was gained.
• List the HNC Chemistry qualification clearly, including the awarding institution and subject, without overstating additional credentials.
• Prepare a concise example of analysing samples or monitoring operational data and deciding on an appropriate next action.
• Describe practical habits that support safe storage, compliant processing, housekeeping and accurate inventory control.
• If travel to meetings or project work has been part of prior roles, explain availability factually and avoid making commitments that cannot be met.
• Review the uploaded résumé for readable file naming, complete contact details and consistency with answers entered in the online form.

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How to Apply

Submit Your Application Through the Verified Route

Apply Through Biffa’s Official Role-Specific Application Form

Use the official application route below to open Biffa’s job-specific Chemist form. The form retains the Wednesbury vacancy context and provides fields for personal information, a résumé upload, role-related questions and consent to the privacy notice. Complete the required fields carefully, attach the requested résumé and review each response before selecting the form’s submission control. The button first displays the standard countdown and then reveals the official employer portal link.