What do you do with 50 tonnes of cabbages, six tonnes of memory foam pillows, a tonne of bottled water, 27 tonnes of animal feed or four huge drums of tomato paste?

Disposing of unwanted or illicit cargo by the container or pallet load poses no challenge to entrepreneur Jake Slinn at J S Global Cargo and Freight Disposal, who recently moved into a new office at Masterlord’s Epsilon House.  He started the company just three years ago at home and now runs a £500,000 business with his brother Jez.

It’s an impressive achievement for the 22-year-old, who saw a gap in the market for the safe and environmentally sensitive disposal or reselling of products coming into the UK through ports at Felixstowe, Liverpool, London Gateway and Grangemouth in Scotland.  His role in disposing of containers from the Ever Given container ship that blocked the Suez Canal was featured on BBC News and in the EADT and Ipswich Star.

Jake, who admits he didn’t excel at school, went on to do an apprenticeship in waste management with a local council before joining industry leaders Sackers to learn the waste game.  His father Nigel is his mentor, playing a big role in his life and encouraging his business ambitions when Jake saw an opportunity to dispose of abandoned cargoes. His mum also contributes to the business by handling the accounts.

“The safe destruction of goods is our core business, with freight that cannot be resold. Everything is tracked and recorded and we always aim to recycle or repurpose, to avoid landfill or incineration – although that’s the only option for some items.  Organic waste such as bananas, pineapples or cabbages which are not fit for human consumption go into an anaerobic digestion plant to produce fuel such as biogas.  Electric scooters that do not comply with UK safety laws are broken down into component parts and recycled.

“We work closely with shipping companies, insurers, importers and the regulatory teams at ports including Trading Standards, Border Force, Port Health and Plant Health. We’re a one-stop shop for them as we remove 5-10 containers a week, plus pallets, dispose of the cargo and return the containers for use. We’re lucky to work with Viking Logistics at Masterlord, who take care of our container and pallet movements.”

Jake Slinn, JS Global Cargo & Freight Disposal

The company is growing rapidly and is able to sell some goods through wholesalers of abandoned stock, such as 5,000 steel waste bins, short-dated drinks and food still suitable for consumption, T-shirts and kitchen utensils.  Some freight, such as a cargo of breast implants that did not conform to UK standards, still have to be destroyed.

“Running a small business can be lonely, not interacting with other people except online or on the phone.  Moving to an office at Epsilon House means I’m now part of a great business community, with all the backup I need from reception services, meeting rooms, comms and of course other companies like Viking Logistics that we work with. It gives us a professional outlook, with 24-hour access and we’re close to the A14.”

Jake Slinn, JS Global