Single-Use Plastics Recycling

Single-Use Plastics Recycling sack collection from your business, available 7 days a week.

Discover what service is right for your business

Sack Collections

No contract. Simply order sacks, select your collection days and times. We'll deliver, then collect your sacks once full from outside your premises.
from
£1.00*

* Price shown for sack service is per sack. Sacks sold in quantities of 50.

What can go in Single-Use Plastic Recycling?

Plastic bottles
Plastic cups
Empty cleaning products
Plastic containers
Clean sauce bottles

Please keep out

Liquids

Flexible plastics e.g cling film, supermarket bags, bubble wrap

Straws
Plastic cutlery
Contaminated packaging
Need to display instructions
Download poster

Why set up Single-Use Recycling collections with First Mile?

Easy switch from your current business waste provider

Flexible business waste and recycling collections up to 3 times a day, 7 days a week

Amazing support available 24/7/365 from our specialist commercial waste collection team

Service Extras, like compliance certificates, weighing and data, and posters.

Why does Single-Use Plastic require its own stream?

Plastic is a stubborn material that resists decomposition. And, while it can be a nightmare in landfill, it can also be reused several times if properly disposed of and recycled.

However, the process of plastic recycling can be difficult if materials haven’t been cleaned properly. It is important to always give your single-use plastics a quick rinse before throwing them in one of our commercial bins. The cleaner a plastic bottle is, the easier it is to recycle into something new.

How we recycle Single-Use Plastics

So get your single-use plastics recycling sacks today and start separating your plastic milk bottles, plastic cups and water bottles for recycling! Need help to know which plastics are recyclable? Our plastics guide is here to help!

Be sure to leave out any plastic bags, bubble wrap and other flexible plastics as these go through a different recycling process. We can help you recycle plastic bags too with our dedicated flexible plastics recycling service.

First Mile also offers a variety of other business waste services beyond plastics. From WEEE recycling to general rubbish removal, First Mile is prepared for anything.

Single-Use Plastic FAQs

Can single-use plastic be recycled?

Over the last decade, the world has produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century. But can single-use plastic be recycled? Thankfully, the answer is yes!

After First Mile carries out the commercial waste collection, plastic waste is sorted by colour and type - the number you see inside the recycling triangle on all your plastic products. Materials are then transported to a specialist facility and, from there, each type of plastic goes through a slightly different process.

How to recycle single-use plastic

PET plastic bottles will be used as our example to answer the question “How to recycle single-use plastic?”, PET plastic bottles, for example, are prewashed and sent through a laser sorting machine to separate clear plastic and green plastic. Bottles are then washed in a hot and soapy process that heats them just enough to get rid of caps and labels.

The PET plastic is then shredded, washed and heated one more time. Recycled plastic bottles flakes are sent to be turned into products such as polyester fabric and carpets, or melted and shaped as pellets to be reprocessed again into new plastic bottles, food containers and other 3D plastic products.

Setting up a commercial waste collection for single-use plastics is easy using one of First Mile's commercial bins.

What happens to business waste after you've collected it?

First Mile is responsible for collecting and disposing of all your rubbish in a professional, secure, and environmentally-friendly manner in.

Your rubbish and recycling is taken to our award-winning 'sacktory' in North London, where it is first sorted and source separated to ensure as much waste as possible is recycled. Outside of London we also have a facilities in Birmingham, or work with trusted partners Nationwide.

Recycling is then sent on to our specially selected partners who are responsible for recycling specific materials. Any waste that cannot be recycled is sent to generate green energy - nothing is sent to landfill. 

Why use First Mile?

As one of the leading waste management companies in LondonBirmingham and the UK, First Mile has already helped over 30,000 businesses to reduce their carbon impact with our range of recycling services - with over 200 new businesses signing up each week.

By choosing First Mile, you’ll benefit from a low cost, reliable service, a 24/7 helpdesk, and free monthly reporting. You can view our accreditations above and our certificates and insurances here.

What are cartons made of and are they recyclable?

The average carton is made up of at least three layered materials: 75% paperboard (from wood), 21% polyethylene (a type of plastic) and 4% aluminium (on long-life or aseptic packages only). It's this unique combination that makes carton packaging safe and efficient to store food and drinks, but it also means that recycling cartons require a very special process.

After collection, cartons are taken to a specialist facility where they're soaked into water to separate the paperboard fibres. These are then dried and recycled into new paper products. The recovered plastic and aluminium layers are separated and turned into garden furniture, industrial products and building materials.

The process of recycling cartons isn't the easiest, but it is possible. Still, worldwide, less than 20% of cartons packaging is recycled - we can and must do better. First Mile recycles cartons in the UK, reducing the carbon footprint necessary and ensuring that nothing ends up in a landfill.

Not sure what you need?

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