Closed loop recycling: An award-winning recycling project

The Challenge.

A long-standing, multi-national hospitality customer approached us with a goal of closed-loop recycling for all their polythene packaging.

Whilst cardboard was already being recycled, all polythene packaging was going to landfill. With the customer's commitment to operating in a sustainable and ethical way, we stepped up to the challenge to assist them in delivering their targets.

The customer needed a way to capture and recycle polythene waste across multiple sites in the UK, from packaging arriving via numerous suppliers of goods, to their own operational waste. The solution would need to work across a complex, large-scale site and had to be cost-neutral.

At a glance.

Our Objectives

Reduce and ultimately eliminate polythene waste sent to landfill.

Deliver a cost-neutral recycling solution.

Support the brands commitment to protecting the planet for future generations.

Create a scalable, long-term closed-loop system with measurable impact.

The Results

Balers installed at every site, enabling efficient polythene collection.

Over 20 tonnes of polythene recycled in 12 months, equivalent to 40 pallets of polythene diverted from landfill.
A fully cost-neutral waste management system.

Recognition with the customers ‘Excellent Service Sustainability Initiative’ award.

Closing the loop.

Our experts were tasked with designing a true closed-loop recycling system, one that would capture incoming supplier packaging alongside on-site polythene waste and turn it back into polymer to extrude other polythene from.

The solution needed to be practical, easy to adopt at the site level, and capable of delivering consistent results across the entire estate.

Polythene waste baler installed at the customer's site.

Baled polythene waste, ready for processing.

Action through collaboration.

Key stakeholders visited the extrusion site to see first-hand how polythene is manufactured and how internal and external was material can be reprocessed back into raw materials. Watching this process brough clarity and confidence to the customer and what was achievable with the polythene waste created onsite.

From there, we carried out a detailed site-by-site audit, reviewing every polythene product received externally, or used internally. This resulted in a comprehensive list of recyclable and non-recyclable items, which formed part of a baler processing guide, rolled out to every location.

Each site was then equipped with a baler, enabling the teams to collect, baled, and return their polythene waste. That material is then processed back into polymer and used to manufacture new bags and films, thus transforming the waste into a valuable resource and closing the loop.

A swift success.

The results have been immediate and measurable. Since the initiative began, the customer has successfully collected, returned, and recycled 20,240 kilos of polythene, equivalent to 40 pallets diverted from landfill. What was previously an environmental challenge is now a cost-neutral closed-loop system.

The next stage of the project is already in motion: incorporating the reprocessed waste directly into the manufacture of the customer’s own waste bags. This will create a truly closed-loop system, where polythene packaging waste is recycled and reintroduced back into their own operations. A perfect example of sustainable packaging in practice.

Closed loop recycling: An award-winning recycling project.