Boost Your Sustainability Credentials with Dry Mixed Recycling

In today’s business landscape, sustainability is a necessity to stay competitive. Waste management, especially how your business deals with recyclable materials, plays a significant role in shaping environmental impact, legal compliance, and public opinion. 

With growing attention from both the government and your consumers, being seen as a sustainable business is no longer optional – it is a requirement to demonstrate environmental responsibility, build trust and strengthen your brand. 

In this blog, we’ll show you how to easily boost your business’s sustainability credentials with Dry Mixed Recycling, one of the most accessible and impactful recycling methods available. 

What is Dry Mixed Recycling?

Dry Mixed Recycling (also known as DMR) is a simple and efficient waste management method that allows businesses to place clean and dry recyclables into one bin for collection. 

This recycling stream typically includes items such as: 

• Plastic bottles 

• Drinks cans 

• Cardboard 

• Office paper 

• Clean food containers 

The makeup of your commercial mixed recycling can vary depending on your workplace, and how much your business may recycle in individual waste streams. Find out more about the benefits of multiple bins and separating waste materials at the end of this blog. 

Dry mixed recycling is popular to London businesses and beyond, as it is easy to implement, requires minimal staff training and helps to divert large volumes of recyclables away from general waste. 

Why Commercial Recycling Matters for the Environment

Commercial dry mixed recycling has a multitude of environmental benefits that businesses can support, including:  

• Conservation of natural resources 

• Decreasing energy usage 

• Reducing virgin material extraction 

• Significantly cutting carbon emissions 

• Protecting biodiversity and habitats 

Mixed recycling allows businesses to recycle this range of materials in one collection, which drives participation and increases the volume of material diverted from general waste.  

This makes it one of the simplest and most effective ways to meet sustainability goals.

Benefits of Dry Mixed Recycling for Businesses

Strengthen Sustainability Credentials

Implementing dry mixed recycling into your waste management plan is a practical step towards meeting environmental targets and strengthening your organisation’s green image. By diverting large volumes of waste away from general waste, your business: 

• Demonstrates measurable progress towards sustainability commitments. 

• Enhances your brand’s reputation with eco-conscious customers, clients, and partners. 

• Aligns with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals, making your business more attractive to investors and stakeholders. 

When combined with other recycling services, such as commercial food waste, mixed recycling becomes part of a holistic waste management strategy. It helps you meet sustainability targets, showcase your commitment to the environment, and visibly strengthen your credentials with customers and stakeholders alike.  

Financial Benefits

Recycling more materials can help businesses manage costs and improve operational efficiency. Key benefits include: 

• Lower disposal fees: General waste sent to landfill or incineration is subject to high gate fees and tax, making it more expensive to dispose of than recyclable streams. 

• Material value: Many recyclable materials, such as cardboard, metals, and certain plastics, can generate rebates or offset disposal costs. 

• Reputation and compliance: By recycling more, businesses reduce the risk of reputational damage, avoid potential compliance issues, and demonstrate commitment to sustainability, bringing indirect cost savings. 

Practical Benefits

Mixed recycling offers a straightforward and cost-effective way for companies to manage their recyclable waste. This simple streams will: 

• Save on waste disposal costs. Reducing general waste lowers fees associated with general waste, and avoids taxes and gate costs. 

• Simplify waste separation. Staff can easily place all recyclables in a single designated container, reducing confusion and saving time. 

• Enhance your workplace’s environmental performance. Recycling materials conserves natural resources, reduces energy use, and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. 

• Maximise sustainability credentials. Having a dry mixed recycling stream shows customers, staff, and stakeholders that your business is taking clear, practical steps to be environmentally responsible.

Dry Mixed Recycling Compliance & Legislation

Commercial dry mixed recycling is not just a nice-to-have, businesses across the UK are required to recycle a set of materials.  

Simpler Recycling

Legislation is changing, with the 2025 Simpler Recycling regulations aiming to streamline recycling across boroughs and businesses, and consequently increasing recycling rates. All businesses with 10 or more employees must be able to show they are recycling the following materials:  

• Rigid plastics   

• Cans   

• Cartons   

• Paper   

• Cardboard    

• Glass    

• Food   

Failure to comply could mean fines, as the Environment Agency can issue Compliance Notices under Sections 45AZA/45AZB of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. 

However, staying compliant and strengthening your company’s sustainability credentials can be straightforward with the right waste management strategy. Simple steps, such as adopting dry mixed recycling, make a big difference.  

Need more help ensuring compliance? Check out Recorra’s handy Simpler Recycling Guide. 

Go The Extra Sustainable Mile with Additional Waste Streams

Dry mixed recycling is an essential stream for businesses to recycle plastics, cans and cartons, and by separating out your paper and cardboard from your dry mixed recycling, your efforts can go even further.  

By separating key materials at the source, the quality of recyclables increases as contamination is reduced. Even a small amount of food or liquid can damage the fibres in cardboard or paper making them unable to be reprocessed, so having separate streams for these materials will increase recyclability, and boost your sustainability credentials even further. 

Why Recorra?

At Recorra, we don’t just collect recycling, we innovate it. 

Our London commercial mixed recycling and beyond is backed by: 

• 38 different recycling streams 

• Cutting-edge sorting technology at our MRF 

• Staff engagement and education programs 

• Transparent reporting for full traceability 

Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, our bespoke audits and consultancy support help you build a credible, long-term strategy for environmental leadership. 

Get a quick quote from our website or contact your local Helpdesk to speak directly with one of our team members.    

Why Recorra?

At Recorra, we don’t just collect recycling, we innovate it. 

Our London commercial mixed recycling and beyond is backed by: 

• 38 different recycling streams 

• Cutting-edge sorting technology at our MRF 

• Staff engagement and education programs 

• Transparent reporting for full traceability 

Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, our bespoke audits and consultancy support help you build a credible, long-term strategy for environmental leadership. 

Get a quick quote from our website or contact your local Helpdesk to speak directly with one of our team members.