What Green Recycling does

Green Recycling Ltd is a UK private limited company founded in 2001 and headquartered in Maldon, Essex, providing industrial and commercial waste collection, materials recycling, and confidential document destruction services across Essex and South East England. The business operates a 90m x 40m Materials Recycling Facility (MRF), completed in 2021 with an EA permit and a second weighbridge, and processes waste streams including paper, cardboard, glass, metals, wood, plastics, electrical waste, and hazardous materials. Since 2023, the main sorting line has run on five TOMRA autosort optical sorters (installed 2022) and a MAX AI robotic picker (deployed 2019 and claimed as the first UK installation), supported by an IMT ballistic separator and a BINDER sizing screen; this configuration reduced manual pickers from 26 to 2.

Revenue is generated through recurring collection service fees (quote-based, custom-priced schedules across dustcarts, front-end loaders, rear-end loaders, and roll-on-roll-off containers), material rebates on recovered recyclables, sale of Solid Recovered Fuel/Refuse Derived Fuel (SRF/RDF) to cement kilns and waste-to-energy plants (a stream operated for nearly 10 years), confidential destruction at 8 tonnes per hour with certificate of conformance, and bin/container hire including compactors with 24-hour service. Customer segments are industrial and commercial businesses, local authorities, and adjacent verticals such as healthcare, social housing, hospitality and retail; go-to-market is sales-led via direct telephone (01621 842600) and a website contact form.

The company is family-owned and operated by Managing Director Rob Smith and his parents Bob and Jean, continuing a multi-generational waste business lineage dating to 1947. With 11–50 employees, the strategic posture emphasizes capital intensity in automated sorting and fleet over headcount, positioning the firm for a UK landfill tax escalation of £23 per ton effective April 2025 that is expected to shift demand from landfill disposal toward recycling services.

Name

Green Recycling

Legal name

Green Recycling Ltd

Website

https://greenrecycling.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Green Recycling Ltd is a UK family-run waste management and recycling firm serving industrial and commercial customers across Essex and South East England from an automated 90m x 40m Materials Recycling Facility in Maldon equipped with TOMRA optical sorters and a MAX AI robotic picker (first UK deployment).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management and Recycling Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Collection (56211), Hazardous Waste Collection (562112)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Materials Recovery (Carpet, Mattresses, Bulky Items) (EUAIADAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Post-Consumer Plastic Collection & Sorting (MRF/PRF, Bale Supply) (EUAIAKAA), On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB)

Keywords

• Commercial waste collection
• Industrial recycling services
• Confidential shredding
• Materials recycling facility
• Skip and bin hire

Headquarters

HQ city

Maldon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Waste Collection Services: Collection of industrial and commercial waste from customer premises using fleet of dustcarts, FEL, REL, RORO skips. Charged to customers for collection and disposal. Various container options and scheduled emptying services.
2. Material Rebates: For materials with market value (metals, cardboard, paper, plastics), customers may receive rebates when material prices are favorable.
3. Confidential Document Destruction: Secure document destruction services using 8-ton-per-hour shredder with certificate of conformance provided.
4. SRF/RDF Production: Solid Recovered Fuel / Refuse Derived Fuel produced from shredded industrial commercial waste streams. Sub 30mm particle size, low moisture, high calorific value supplied to cement industry kilns and waste to energy plants. Nearly 10 years of production.
5. Bin and Container Hire: Supply and hire of various bin sizes and containers including compactors with 24hr service/maintenance. Sale or rental options available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Green Recycling provides commercial and industrial waste collection, recycling processing, and confidential shredding services across South East England. The company operates its own Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Maldon, Essex, equipped with TOMRA optical sorters, MAX AI robotic sorting, and ballistic separators to process paper, cardboard, glass, metals, wood, plastics, and electrical waste. Customers receive tailored bin sizing, scheduled collections, duty-of-care documentation, and optional material rebates for valuable recyclables.

Product overview

Green Recycling is a waste management and recycling services company offering a unified suite of collection and processing solutions. The core offering consists of skip and bin hire with scheduled collection services, industrial and commercial waste removal, and confidential waste destruction. The company operates a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) that processes seven core material streams: paper, cardboard, glass, metals, wood, plastics, and electrical waste. Supporting services include compactor equipment rental, hazardous waste disposal, and waste-to-energy SRF/RDF production. The company has invested heavily in automation technology including TOMRA optical sorters, MAX AI picking robots, and ballistic separators to maximize recycling rates and reduce labor requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Skip and Bin Hire and Collection Service
• Industrial and Commercial Waste Collection
• Confidential Waste Collection and Shredding
• Recycling Collection and Processing
• Compactor Services
• Hazardous Waste Systems
• Waste to Energy SRF/RDF
• Metal Recycling
• Glass Recycling
• Paper Recycling
• Cardboard Recycling
• Wood Recycling
• Electrical Waste Recycling
• Industrial Waste Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Picker reduction from 26 to 2 through automation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TOMRAcoreTechnology or IntegrationEquipment supplier providing TOMRA autosort optical sorting machines. Five 2.8m wide optical sorters installed that automatically sort film, plastics, paper, card, wood, rigid plastics and ferrous metals.
• CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme)minorOthersHealth and safety accreditation shown on website partner logos.
• CIWM (Chartered Institution of Waste Management)minorOthersProfessional body membership shown on website partner logos.
• RHA (Road Haulage Association)coreOthersRHA Waste and Recycling group organizes industry events and trips including IFAAT waste and recycling show in Munich. Green Recycling actively participates in RHA events and industry conferences.
• WAMITABminorOthersWaste management training and qualification body membership shown on website partner logos.
• MatthiessenminorOthersPartner logo shown on website.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Renewi plc: Renewi is a European waste-to-product company operating commercial waste collection and recycling across the UK and continental Europe. Closely comparable in MRF and commercial recycling activities, with broader geographic coverage and publicly-listed scale.
• FCC Environment UK: FCC Environment is a major UK waste management operator providing commercial collection, recycling and disposal services. It overlaps directly with Green Recycling's commercial collection and recycling model, but with national infrastructure and larger fleet.
• Biffa plc: Biffa is a UK-listed national waste management company offering commercial and industrial collection, MRF processing, recycling and energy-from-waste. While much larger and nationally diversified, it directly overlaps with Green Recycling's commercial collection, paper/cardboard/plastics recycling and SRF production, making it the most direct broad peer.
• Veolia Environmental Services UK: Veolia UK is a major division of the global Veolia group, providing commercial waste collection, MRF operations, hazardous waste management and SRF/RDF supply across the UK. It competes with Green Recycling across nearly every service line, but at national and enterprise scale rather than regional focus.
• Suez Recycling and Recovery UK: Suez operates UK recycling and recovery infrastructure including MRFs, commercial collection and energy-from-waste facilities. Comparable offering to Green Recycling but at multi-region scale, with broader customer base and deeper regulatory resources.

Direct peers

• Stericycle UK: Stericycle provides confidential waste destruction and document shredding services in the UK via dedicated container and shredding infrastructure. Direct overlap with Green Recycling's confidential waste line, particularly for enterprise and regulated customers, though Stericycle operates nationally and at much larger scale.
• Shred-it (Stericycle brand): Shred-it is a specialist brand under Stericycle focused on secure on-site document destruction with certificates of destruction. Direct peer to Green Recycling's confidential waste / 8-tonne shredding line, primarily serving enterprise and regulated customers across the UK.

Regional players

• Hills Waste Solutions: Hills Waste Solutions is a regional South West England waste management company providing commercial collection, recycling and MRF services. Comparable mid-sized regional player with similar product mix to Green Recycling, though operating in a different geography.
• CSH Environmental: CSH Environmental is a UK waste management company offering commercial waste collection, recycling and confidential waste services to business customers. Comparable mid-market regional operator to Green Recycling, with overlapping services including confidential shredding.
• Recycling Lives: Recycling Lives operates UK recycling facilities including scrap metal, WEEE and commercial waste services, with a social-enterprise mission. Comparable mid-sized regional player with overlapping services in metal recycling, WEEE and commercial waste collection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/greenrecycling_
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@GreenRecyclingLtd
• Facebookfacebook.com/greenrecyclingltd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/green-recycling-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/greenrecycling_

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Green Recycling