Commercial Dry Mixed Recycling Waste Bins

Yes. Dry mixed recycling collected by Mick George goes to our own materials recycling facilities, where it is separated by screens and trommels, magnets for metals, optical sorters for plastics and air classification for paper, then baled and sent to reprocessors as paper, card, plastic and metal. Material too small or dirty to recover is turned into refuse derived fuel for energy recovery rather than sent to landfill. Customers can see the tonnage recycled from each bin through our waste reports. 

Yes, empty food and drink cartons such as milk, juice and soup cartons can go in a dry mixed recycling bin, as long as they are dry. Cartons are made of layered card, plastic and sometimes foil, so they are sorted out separately at the facility and sent to a specialist reprocessor rather than being pulped with ordinary card. Empty the carton, give it a quick rinse, push the straw inside and leave the cap on. Cartons still containing liquid are treated as contamination because they soak the paper and card around them.

A quick rinse is enough. Cans, plastic bottles and food trays only need to be emptied and swilled out so no food or liquid is left inside; they do not need to be spotless. Food residue is the main reason a recycling bin is rejected, because it soils the paper and card and attracts pests between collections. Peel film lids off trays and put them in general waste, as thin plastic film cannot be sorted. Lids and caps can stay on bottles. Anything that cannot be emptied, such as a half-full tin of paint, is not recycling and should not go in the bin.

The driver checks the bin before lifting it. If it contains obvious contamination, such as food, liquids, glass, black bin bags or general rubbish, the bin may be left uncollected or emptied and charged at the general waste rate instead of the recycling rate. Repeated contamination can also mean a contamination charge, because one bad bin can downgrade a whole lorry load at the sorting facility. If a bin is refused, remove the wrong items and we will collect it on the next scheduled visit, or book an extra collection. A short list of what to keep out, printed on the bin lid, prevents most problems.

A small office of up to around ten people usually needs one 240 litre bin, which holds four to five bin bags and up to 10 kg of recycling, collected weekly or fortnightly. Larger offices, shops and hospitality venues typically move to a 660 litre bin (10 to 12 bags, up to 20 kg) or a 1,100 litre bin (15 to 18 bags, up to 35 kg), or several of them. Sites producing recycling by the pallet load are better served by a front end loader container or recycling equipment such as a baler. Our bin size guide lists the dimensions of each option.

Flatten boxes, but do not crush bottles. Flattened cardboard takes up far less room, so you fit more into each collection and are less likely to end up with an overflowing bin. Plastic bottles and cans should be left in their normal shape with the lid on, because the optical sorters at the recycling facility identify items by their shape and can mistake a crushed bottle for paper. If your business produces a lot of cardboard, a separate cardboard and paper bin keeps it clean and dry and is cheaper to have collected than mixed recycling.