Plastic waste management
Recycling plastic waste is a responsibility all businesses should uphold where possible, to reduce creating new ones and to help protect the environment. While the UK government has pledges in place and domestic waste collections recycle some plastic packaging, businesses use many different types of plastic and require separate disposal methods. Arrange collection and disposal of your commercial plastic waste with our professional services from any location in the UK.
Working towards zero landfill is an important objective these days, particularly for businesses. Recycling plastic in the right way is a good step towards this, rather than including it with your general waste. It shows your clients that your company is serious about our planet and reduces your landfill tax.
Get started with free plastic waste bins, just pay for collection. Call us on 0800 211 8390 and speak to one of our plastic recycling experts or contact us online for a quick quote.
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Contents
Plastic waste
collection
At Business Waste, we can arrange one-off or regular collection of your commercial plastic waste. We’re plastic recycling experts and our services cover the entire country. It’s easy to organise plastic waste recycling near you – wherever your business is located in the UK, whatever your industry, the type of plastic waste and amount you need to get rid of.
Our dedicated and professional team provide you with free plastic recycling bins to securely store your waste, you just pay for collection. This means a sturdy wheelie bin with a cover to prevent any tampering. Fill them within the weight limits for the size of bin you have and place in an accessible place for collection.
Decide on a plastic waste collection schedule that meets you needs, whether it’s daily, weekly, or fortnightly depending on the amount of waste you have. Our team will then arrive on time to remove your plastic waste and take it to an appropriate facility to prevent it going to landfill where possible.
If you have any specific questions about recycling plastics within your business or to get a free quote, call 0800 211 8390. One of our friendly plastic recycling experts will be happy to help. Or you can get in touch online and we’ll get back to you with a fast response around plastic recycling solutions for your business.
Plastic recycling
bins
Use plastic recycling bins to store any type and amount of plastic waste. From little to large plastic waste bins, find the right size for your output and collection schedule. We can advise on the best size based on how much plastic waste your business produces on a regular basis and how often you want it removing.
Whether you need a large one-off removal or want regular collection of plastic for recycling, there are wheelie bins to suit all needs. Explore some of the popular plastic recycling bins available.
Who needs
plastic waste disposal?
Every business will use and produce plastic waste on some level, as it’s one of the most widely used materials in the world. From packaging and wrapping of goods you receive, to used bottles in the office kitchen, you may generate more plastic waste than you first thought.
The type of plastic your business uses affects whether it’s recyclable or not. Either way, as a company you need to arrange proper plastic disposal to safely and legally get rid of such waste.
Some of the main businesses that can generate a lot of waste plastic and should recycle wherever possible include:
- Construction – pipes, tiles, broken buckets, and other construction site waste
- Dry cleaning – detergent bottles and containers
- Factory – packaging and plastic offcuts from manufacturing processes
- Pubs and clubs – plastic drinks bottles and cups
- Takeaway – packaging, plastic trays, and utensils
How does plastic
waste collection work?
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Select your free dumpsters
It’s quick and easy to organise commercial waste collection for your business.
Simply start by telling us the:
- Type of trash you need removing
- Size of dumpsters you require
- Number of dumpsters you want
We’ll provide you with a free quote.
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Arrange delivery
When you’re happy with the type, number, and size of free dumpsters, tell us when you need your dumpsters delivering.
Let us know about any access issues where you want the dumpsters delivering – such as locked gates, access codes and times. We’ll get you up and running in no time.
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Fill up your dumpster
After the free dumpsters arrive at your chosen location, fill them up with the agreed trash type.
Make sure you remain within any weight limits for the specific waste type and bin size.
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Get your business waste collected
We’ll arrange waste collection at a time and frequency to suit you and the amount of waste you have.
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What is
plastic waste?
Plastic waste is anything made entirely or mostly from one or more types of plastic, which is used, broken or simply no longer needed. This could be anything from a plastic bottle to carrier bags and even cigarette butts (as the filters contain plastic fibres). Plastic pollution is the accumulation of such plastic products in both landfill and elsewhere – such as in the sea.
Waste plastic is a problem because it doesn’t decompose. While it may physically break into pieces, these can remain for thousands of years in landfill. The chemicals they contain can leak into the surrounding environment, polluting soil, water, and air. For this reason, recycling plastic is essential wherever possible to avoid contributing to pollution.
Types of
plastic waste
There are more than 50 types of plastic that are all recycled in slightly different ways. The seven most common types of plastic you’ll likely use in your operations and need to dispose of correctly are:
- PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) – This is the most commonly recycled plastic. It’s used to create many household and workplace items such as carpet fibre, clothing, rope, and plastic bottles.
- HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) – Products include plastic bottles for milk, motor oil, and various types of detergent (including bleach). This plastic is recyclable.
- PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) – An extremely tough, dense plastic used for all types of pipes and tiles, most commonly plumbing pipes. PVC recycling is possible but must be separated from other plastics.
- LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) – A durable yet malleable plastic that’s highly flexible. It’s commonly used for shopping and sandwich bags and clingfilm. LDPE plastic is sometimes recycled.
- PP (Polypropylene) – Only occasionally recycled, this is the type of plastic used to make bottle lids and thicker plastic items.
- PS (Polystyrene) – Often used for packaging and coffee cups, it’s difficult to recycle but is possible. Learn about similar foam waste disposal methods and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) plastic recycling.
- Code 7 – This describes other types of plastic not categorised by any of the above. Some of the main ones are PC (Polycarbonate), PLA (Polylactide), and PMMA (acrylic) – often used to make babies’ bottles, CDs, and security barriers, which are tougher and harder to recycle.
- Microplastics and nanoplastics – Incredibly small pieces of plastic waste that aren’t always visible to the naked human eye.
For more information about the many types of plastic waste:
How to dispose
of plastic waste
With so many types of plastic, how to dispose of plastic and recycle it can be confusing for businesses and individuals. Domestic kerbside plastic recycling collection varies from place to place, with a focus largely on bottles. For businesses the process is different, as you need to arrange collection by an authorised waste carrier.
Also, unlike glass, when plastic is recycled, it’s not melted down to make the same substance again. Melted plastics of different strengths can separate, like oil and water. This means there are some barriers to plastic recycling, which is why different counties and districts have different rules. Widespread use of dyes and polymers also affects the viscosity of plastic, so it needs to be sorted accordingly.
The good news for businesses seeking plastic recycling near you is that you don’t need to separate every individual plastic type to dispose of it. Simply arrange delivery of plastic waste bins for free to your premises and fill them with only waste plastic within the weight limits of the bin sizes you use.
Ensure all the plastic products you place in a plastic recycling bin are clean and dry to avoid contaminants. Then place at the agreed accessible pickup point ahead of collection time. Your plastic waste will be transported to a nearby recycling plant where it’s sorted, cleaned and either recycled or disposed of depending on the plastic types.
When we collect and sort your waste, we’ll place it in the best recycling plant to have the most positive impact on the environment and, as such, your business. Speak to one of our professionals today if you have any further questions about how to dispose of plastic waste.
Plastic has historically not been biodegradable, which means it doesn’t decompose naturally over time. Technicians have been working to improve this and there are now many alternatives. Unfortunately, most of the foods we buy from supermarkets come in some sort of plastic container and we have a way to go before all companies are using biodegradable alternatives.
Soft plastic recycling
Soft plastics are thin types of plastic commonly used to make carrier bags, wrapping, and some packaging. This includes things like biscuit wrappers, bread bags, and cling film. Recycling soft plastics is possible, though the process is different from recycling other kinds of plastic as their thin nature means they can get stuck in regular plastic recycling machinery.
As most soft plastics are used to package food they must be clean and dry before being sent for recycling. You should separate soft plastics from other types of plastic waste where possible within your business to make recycling them easier. Some supermarkets and shops have specific collection bins for soft plastics like used carrier bags from consumers.
Lots of soft plastics are made from Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE). For soft plastics recycling the materials are taken to a special recycling facility and separated from hard and other kinds of plastic waste. Special LDPE recycling machines break the soft plastics down into smaller pellets and pieces, which are used to create new plastic items.
Businesses can arrange commercial waste collections of soft plastics in a similar way to recycling other plastic types. Contact us at Business Waste for a free quote for soft plastic recycling where possible. One of our experts can advise on the best solution and help arrange recycling of your soft plastics.
How is
plastic recycled?
The plastic recycling process involves collecting and sorting scrap or waste and cleaning it to remove any contaminants. It’s then either shredded into flakes or melted down and turned into something else. Most plastics are melted into pellets, which are used to make denser plastics – such as chairs and tables.
After collecting your waste plastic, we’ll first sort it into different plastic types. Based on this we’ll then decide which recycling unit it should go to and transport it there. How the plastic is recycled or disposed of then depends on the type and recycling facility. Some of the common methods include:
- Plastic recyclables can be shredded and cleaned to remove all impurities, such as labels. It’s then melted down to make pellets, from which new plastics are made.
- One plastic recycling process produces petroleum. This occurs by deploying a depolymerization process, which can include many different strains of plastic. Almost any polymer or a mix of polymers can be used to make these products.
- An increasingly popular plastic recycling process is heat compression. This basically takes all forms of plastic – from bottles and hard industrial pipes to medicine containers and clothing – and mixes them together in huge rotating drums that look like tumble driers. This means all sorts of plastic waste can be recycled, but the process uses a lot of energy, so isn’t ideal.
Plastic recycling
facts
Around the world we produce 300 million tonnes of plastic every year. According to the government’s plastic waste statistics, in the UK five million tonnes of plastic is used annually, of which around half is for packaging. Sadly, only about a quarter is recycled, which means there could be nearly four million tonnes of plastic waste going to landfill.
Even more concerning is how much plastic goes into the ocean every year. It’s estimated that anywhere between eight and 14 million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans annually. In total there are upwards of five trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans and the number keeps growing.
One positive is that plastic recycling rates have improved in the UK. 370,000 tonnes of plastic bottles are recycled on average each year today, which is a lot more than the 13,000 tonnes that was the average in the year 2000. On the other hand, the UK produces about 76kg of plastic waste per person every year, which is 20 times more than it was 50 years ago.
Read our reviews
Had difficulty finding a company to recycle plastic waste. Once i had contacted David at Business Waste the process was quick and easy he kept me informed every step of the way. Will be using again for our business waste.Ian Hallett
Plastic recycling
FAQs
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Why is it important to recycle plastics?
There are many benefits of recycling plastic as a business. For every ton of plastic that’s recycled it saves about 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space. This avoids more plastic potentially polluting nearby soil and water sources, as chemicals can leak out, while it can take hundreds of years to break down.
Recycling plastic also means less new plastic needs creating, which significantly reduces the amount of energy required. For your business it also saves money by avoiding paying more landfill tax to get rid of your waste. And it shows your client’s that you’re actively finding environmentally friendly waste solutions.
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What plastics are recyclable?
There are lots of different types of plastics and sadly not all of them are as easy to recycle as others. You can check the symbol on most plastics to see its type and whether it may be easy to recycle. Some of the most common recyclable plastics are:
- PET – such as plastic bottles and trays
- HDPE – like milk cartons and shampoo bottles
- PP – including bottle lids, margarine tubs, and thicker plastics
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Is polyethylene recyclable?
Yes, most products made completely from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) are recyclable. While polyethylene isn’t biodegradable, it’s very easy to recycle as it’s not bonded with other plastics. Examples of polyethylene products you can recycle include detergent bottles, plastic milk cartons, and cereal packets.
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Which plastics cannot be recycled?
Not all plastic is recyclable. You can normally work this out by checking the Resin Identification Code (RIC) on a plastic product – usually a number in a recycling triangle shape. Anything with a number seven on it may be hard or impossible to recycle.
The main plastics that you cannot recycle include bioplastics, composite plastic, and some plastic packaging. If you’re unsure whether the plastic waste you have is recyclable or not, contact our team. One of our experts will be able to let you know.
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Where does plastic end up if it’s not recycled?
Sadly, any plastic waste that you cannot recycle usually ends up in landfill or being incinerated. Work is ongoing to develop more recyclable and biodegradable plastic types, but a lot of nonrecyclable plastic is still in use. While incineration avoids more waste going to landfill, it can release pollutants and requires larger amounts of energy consumption – neither of which are good for our planet.
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What non-recyclable waste usually ends up in sanitary landfills?
Unfortunately, not all plastic waste is recyclable and may be thrown away with general waste. However, sometimes non-recyclable waste ends up in sanitary landfill by accident due to individuals or businesses not separating waste properly or mistakenly including it in sanitary bins. Non-recyclable waste that usually end up in sanitary landfills can include:
- Sanitary product packaging and wrappers
- Plastic cups and cutlery
- Cling film
- Plastic cartons and bottles
- Crisp packets
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How many times can you recycle plastic?
Normally you can only recycle plastic once, sometimes two or three times. Much like recycling paper, every time you recycle the same piece of plastic it loses quality. Instead of paper fibres decreasing though, the polymer chain grows shorter every time an item of plastic goes through the recycling process.
If you’re getting rid of recycled plastic products, it’s still worth adding to your plastic recycling bins though. At the recycling plant they’ll be sorted and assessed, so any appropriate plastics are reused and recycled in as green a way as possible – rather than going straight to landfill.
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Can polypropylene be recycled?
Yes, you can recycle polypropylene (PP) in most cases. It’s often used for food packaging and thousands of other products across the automotive, medical, and retail industries. As well as being recyclable, polypropylene takes less time to break down and releases fewer toxins, making it one of the greener plastics. You can recycle polypropylene with your other commercial plastic waste.
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Is polycarbonate recyclable?
Polycarbonate (PC) is fully recyclable. It’s used to create CDs, DVDs, plastic trays, bottles, and other items. When you’re finished with them you can recycle PC items that are turned into new material for various uses. Polycarbonate is shredded and granulated as part of the recycling process.
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Can you recycle polymer?
Polymer recycling is possible as it can be melted down and reformed. Waste polymer plastics and products are taken to a recycling centre and separated into different polymer types. These are shredded, melted, and turned into polymer pellets. The polymer pellets are then sold and used in new plastic products.
You can recycle polymer plastics alongside other plastic types when disposing of such waste from your business or home, as it will be sorted at the recycling centre before processing.
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Can you recycle polypropylene?
Polypropylene recycling is common. The process for recycling polypropylene involves separating it from other plastics before heating to temperatures of 205°C at which point it melts. It’s then cooled and formed into pellets, which are used to create new items.
With polypropylene recycling the plastic loses strength and flexibility the more it’s recycled. Therefore, it’s often mixed with new polypropylene before adding to fresh products, so it maintains enough strength.
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Is fibreglass recycled with plastic?
Fibreglass should not be recycled with other types of plastic. It’s a reinforced plastic material containing glass fibres, which are hard to separate from the plastic resin. Therefore any type of waste fibreglass should be stored away from other plastic and recycled on its own.
Get your free plastic waste collection quote
Get a fast FREE quote for plastic waste disposal
- Free quote within 1 hr
- Any type of plastic
- FREE bins and delivery
- We cover all of the UK