Suez Recycling and Recovery UK has its 30th anniversary in the country, with chief executive David Palmer-Jones the sole remaining staff member from its foundation.
It now employs more than 5,000 people at locations from Aberdeen to Cornwall, delivering services to the public and private sectors, and operating energy-from-waste power stations.
The business was formerly known as Sita UK and rebranded to Suez in 2015.
It began life above a shoe shop in Egham with just a dozen staff, and won its first public sector collection contract in 1989 with Erewash Council.
Annual revenues now exceed £800m and Suez handles more than 10 million tonnes of waste a year.
The company marked its anniversary with a film showing its history and activities.
He said he expected the next 30 years to bring even greater change and require yet another transformation of the sector.
“There is a strength of Government support and public appetite for change in this vital area that we have not seen before, and we look forward to continuing to invest and play our part during the next 30 years to help the UK achieve a circular economy,” he concluded.