Recyclenow

What Recyclenow does

Recycle Now (also styled Recyclenow) is the national recycling campaign for England and Northern Ireland, launched in 2004 and operated by The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a registered UK charity (No. 1159512) headquartered at Ground Floor, Blenheim Court, 19 George Street, Banbury. The organization helps individuals, households, businesses, and local authorities reduce waste and recycle more by providing digital tools and educational content centred on correct recycling behaviour, and it does not operate as a commercial enterprise.

Its product portfolio is anchored by the Recycling Locator Tool, a postcode-based web application that tells users what they can recycle at home and surfaces nearby bring banks, recycling centres, and drop-off points; the tool was used over 6.5 million times in 2021. Adjacent products include the Refill Locator (a postcode-based tool for finding refill points for dry goods such as rice, pasta, and grains), a comprehensive A-Z recycling guide covering hundreds of household items, a content hub with material-specific how-to articles and contamination-reduction guidance, a Workplace Recycling Support module aligned with the UK Government's Simpler Recycling legislation, and an embeddable widget licenced to third-party websites. The annual Recycle Week campaign, now in its 23rd year (2025) with the 'Rescue Me' creative featuring animated recyclable characters, is the flagship awareness initiative.

Recycle Now does not sell to end users and operates on a non-commercial, charity-funded model. Revenue mechanics consist of donations from national brands and retailers, UK Government grants, and contributions from trusts and foundations channelled through WRAP. The go-to-market motion is community-led public education rather than sales, supported by a website, social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube), earned media, and partnerships with local authorities, retailers (Boots, Holland & Barrett, Superdrug), waste managers, and third-party schemes (Podback, TerraCycle, recycle:me, Valpak/Recycle More).

Name

Recyclenow

Legal name

The Waste and Resources Action Programme

Website

https://recyclenow.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Recycle Now is the national recycling campaign for England and Northern Ireland, operated by WRAP charity. It provides citizens and businesses with postcode-based Recycling and Refill Locators, an A-Z recycling guide, and Recycle Week, the flagship annual awareness campaign.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Recycling Campaign and Education

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Post-Consumer Plastic Collection & Sorting (MRF/PRF, Bale Supply) (EUAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB), Source-Separated Recyclables Collection (Dual/Single-Stream) (EUAIAAAN), Consumer E-waste Collection & Take-Back Programs (EUAIAIAA)

Keywords

• Recycling education services
• Waste management guidance
• Public recycling campaigns
• Household recycling tools
• Environmental awareness programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Banbury

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Funding and Donations: Recycle Now is funded by various sources including donations from national brands and retailers, Government grants, and trusts and foundations. As a campaign brand of WRAP (a registered UK charity), the organization does not generate direct revenue but operates through charitable funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Recycle Now is the national recycling campaign for England and Northern Ireland, operated by charity WRAP, providing citizens with postcode-based digital tools (Recycling Locator, Refill Locator) and educational content (A-Z recycling guide, how-to articles) to identify recyclable household items, find nearby recycling and refill points, and reduce contamination. The campaign includes the flagship annual Recycle Week event and workplace compliance guidance for businesses transitioning to the Government's Simpler Recycling legislation.

Product overview

Recycle Now is the national recycling campaign for England and Northern Ireland, operated by charity WRAP. Its product portfolio centres on a suite of digital tools and educational resources: the core Recycling Locator Tool (used over 6.5 million times in 2021) and Refill Locator, both postcode-based search tools; the comprehensive Recycle an Item A-Z Guide covering hundreds of household items; the How to Recycle Content Hub with articles and material-specific guides; and the Workplace Recycling Support module for business compliance with Simpler Recycling legislation. The annual Recycle Week Campaign (now in its 23rd year) is the flagship awareness initiative, supported by the 'Rescue Me' educational campaign featuring animated recyclable characters. An embeddable Recycling Locator Widget is available for third-party licensing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recycling Locator Tool

Quantifiable outcome

• 88% of UK residents regularly recycle (Recycle Week 2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecycle Now is one of the citizen-facing brands brought to by WRAP, a charity working across six continents with governments, businesses and citizens to create a world where resources are sourced and used sustainably. WRAP operates Recycle Now as its national recycling campaign for England and Northern Ireland.
• Brands and RetailerssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerFunding and marketing partnerships with national brands and retailers who support the Recycle Now campaign. Funding comes from donations from national brands and retailers, Government grants, and trusts and foundations.
• Local AuthoritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with local authorities across England and Northern Ireland to provide accurate kerbside collection information through the Recycling Locator tool. Local authorities update scheme data via WRAP's LA Portal tool.
• Waste Management CompaniessupportingTechnology or IntegrationCollaborative partnerships with waste management companies to bring about real sustainable change and improve recycling infrastructure and services.
• GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Government bodies to deliver recycling campaigns and support legislation such as Simpler Recycling workplace recycling requirements. Funding includes Government grants.
• Government (Simpler Recycling Legislation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrom April 2025, all businesses and non-domestic premises in England with more than 10 full time equivalent staff will be required to separate their dry recyclable and food waste from residual waste as part of the Government's Simpler Recycling legislation. Recycle Now provides guidance for businesses on this transition.
• Boots, Holland & Barratt, SuperdrugsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBeauty and grooming packaging take-back schemes through selected retailers. These retailers offer collection points for beauty and grooming packaging currently not accepted in home recycling schemes, with some offering loyalty reward points as incentives.
• recycle:mesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerDoorstep collection service for hard-to-recycle plastic beauty packaging available UK-wide. Operated by THG (The Hut Group) as an alternative recycling option for consumers.
• PodbacksupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerNot-for-profit recycling service for plastic and aluminium coffee pods and capsules. Offers drop-off points at local authority recycling centres, supermarkets, and coffee shops across the UK.
• Valpak (Recycle More)supportingTechnology or IntegrationData supplier for Recycling Centres and bring banks information. Data is supplied by UK local authorities to Valpak via the Recycle More website, which then feeds into the Recycling Locator tool.
• TerraCyclesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerTerraCycle's Crisp Packet Recycling Scheme provides an alternative recycling route for crisp packets, which are not currently recyclable in home recycling collections.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Valpak: Compliance scheme operator that supplies the underlying recycling-location data powering Recycle Now's locator. Comparable as the data-infrastructure partner for citizen-facing recycling information and a direct compliance and recycling-services peer.
• TerraCycle: Operator of specialist take-back schemes (e.g., crisp packets) integrated with Recycle Now. Directly comparable as a hard-to-recycle consumer collection partner with brand-funded recycling schemes and citizen-facing drop-off networks.

Emerging players

• Recycle Coach: Personalised recycling-search and education tool used by North American municipalities. Comparable citizen-facing recycling guidance product with the same 'what can I recycle and where' use case as Recycle Now's locator and A-Z guide.
• Circularity Scotland: Scotland's deposit-return scheme operator. Comparable as a UK policy-adjacent organisation operating in the same citizen-recycling behaviour-change space and competing for the same behaviour-change attention as Recycle Now's campaigns.
• Podback: Not-for-profit coffee pod recycling scheme partnered with Recycle Now. Comparable as a UK citizen-facing specialist recycling take-back scheme that relies on awareness campaigns and drop-off networks similar to Recycle Now's role.
• ReCollect Systems: Provider of white-label waste and recycling apps for municipalities and haulers. Comparable as a recycling-locator and education platform sold to local authorities — an indirect competitor/substitute for Recycle Now's Locator tooling.

Regional players

• Zero Waste Scotland: Scotland's national behaviour-change and recycling advisory body. Comparable to Recycle Now as a publicly-funded national campaign with a recycling-locator-style service and consumer-education remit, serving the Scottish population.
• Recycle for Scotland (Changeworks): Scottish recycling campaign site delivering household recycling guidance and behaviour-change content. Directly comparable as a sister national campaign offering the same citizen-education utility as Recycle Now for Scottish consumers.
• Wales Recycles: The Welsh national recycling campaign offering recycling guidance, a recycling locator, and behaviour-change campaigns. Directly comparable as a parallel regional national campaign with the same citizen-facing mission under a different UK nation.

Broad incumbents

• WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme): Recycle Now's parent charity and the operator behind the national campaign. WRAP is directly comparable as the umbrella body running other national programmes across food surplus, textiles, and plastics that share audiences and government relationships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/recycle_now
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/RecycleNowCampaign
• Facebookfacebook.com/recyclenow
• Instagraminstagram.com/recyclenow_uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/recycle-now-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Recyclenow