Change Waste Recycling

What Change Waste Recycling does

Change Waste Recycling Ltd is a UK private limited company headquartered in Edinburgh, founded in 2001, that provides commercial waste collection and recycling services to approximately 2,679 business customers per week across Scotland and London. The company's flagship offering is High Quality Recycling (HQR), a proprietary source-segregated collection system in which recyclable materials are separated at the point of generation and kept segregated through to recovery, producing lower contamination than Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR) and supporting preferential pricing. The portfolio also includes DMR, food waste collection, glass recycling, general waste handling, confidential waste disposal, and paper hand towel recycling, all delivered via a smaller fleet of vehicles that can access constrained urban sites.

The company runs a direct-sales go-to-market with dedicated Client Relationship Managers conducting on-site consultations, waste audits, and staff training. Pricing is structured as a fixed monthly fee for recycling collections plus a variable fee for general waste, a model that incentivises customers to increase recycling and reduce landfill. Named enterprise customers span retail (UNIQLO, Lush, Schuh, Knoops), hospitality (Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Assembly Rooms Edinburgh, Lost Shore Surf Resort, Signature Group, Helix), commercial property (Savills, CBRE), and the public sector (Scottish Parliament, served for over a decade). The National Business Division, launched in 2022, was created to serve larger multi-site clients nationally.

Change Waste employs approximately 80 staff across offices in Edinburgh (HQ), Glasgow, and London. Reported revenue for the financial year ending March 2025 was £8.73 million, an 18% year-on-year increase, with current-year turnover projected at £10.4 million, a 38% rise since 2023/24. The company holds a Royal Warrant for waste management services since 2016, ISO 9001/14001/45001 certifications through 2027, and began transitioning its 14-vehicle HQR fleet to fully electric power in September 2025 as part of a three-year programme.

Name

Change Waste Recycling

Legal name

Change Waste Recycling Ltd

Website

https://changewasterecycling.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Change Waste Recycling is a UK private waste management company headquartered in Edinburgh, serving approximately 2,679 commercial customers per week through its proprietary source-segregated High Quality Recycling service across retail, hospitality, public sector, and commercial property segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Collection (562111), Waste Collection (56211), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Recycling Transfer & Consolidation (Single-Stream, Dual-Stream, Source-Separated) (EUAIABAC)

Keywords

• Waste management services
• Recycling services
• Commercial waste collection
• Sustainability services
• Resource recovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Waste Management Services: Fixed monthly fee for recycling collections plus variable fee for general waste. This pricing structure incentivises behavioural change by rewarding increased recycling.
2. Specialist Event Waste Management: Consultative waste management services for major sporting events, delivering operational transformation and measurable sustainability outcomes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Change Waste Recycling provides commercial waste collection and recycling services, anchored by its proprietary High Quality Recycling (HQR) model — a source-segregated system in which recyclable materials are separated at the point of generation and kept separate through to recovery, yielding lower contamination than standard Dry Mixed Recycling. The portfolio also covers food waste, glass, confidential paper, paper hand towels, and general waste handling, delivered by an owned fleet of vehicles out of Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, with a National Business Division serving multi-site enterprise customers.

Product overview

Change Waste Recycling offers a portfolio of waste management and recycling services anchored by its unique High Quality Recycling (HQR) system—the only source-segregated recycling service in Scotland. The core offering includes HQR alongside Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR), food waste collection, glass recycling, general waste handling, confidential waste disposal, and paper hand towel recycling. For larger multi-site customers, the company provides National Business Solutions—a consultative, analysis-driven service that delivers bespoke waste strategies with carbon efficiency and cost reduction focus. All services are supported by local operational teams and transparent reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• High Quality Recycling (HQR) Source-segregated recycling service that separates recyclable materials at the point of generation and keeps them separate through to recovery, delivering lower contamination and preferential pricing compared with mixed recycling. Available to commercial customers across Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.
• Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR) Mixed recycling service that allows disposal and recycling of multiple recyclable materials in a single stream for commercial customers, with materials recovered and processed efficiently.
• Food Waste Collection Dedicated food waste collection service for restaurants, bars and hospitality venues using specialised fleet vehicles, supporting composting and energy recovery while minimising landfill contributions.
• Glass Recycling Mixed glass collection service from pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels across the UK; collected glass is recycled back into the production of new bottles and jars in a closed-loop system.
• General Waste Handling General waste collection and handling for non-recyclable commercial materials, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and supporting clients' sustainability goals.
• Confidential Waste Disposal Secure collection and disposal of confidential documents for businesses, with guaranteed secure destruction to protect against data breaches, identity theft and compliance risks.
• Paper Hand Towel Recycling Segregated paper hand towel collection service providing a sustainable, circular solution that enables reprocessing and recycling into new hand towels for commercial washrooms.
• National Business Solutions Consultative national waste service for larger, complex multi-site customers (e.g. UNIQLO, Lush, Knoops, Schuh, Helix), delivering in-depth waste output analysis, carbon efficiency, cost reduction and bespoke source-segregated waste management strategies replicated nationally through carefully selected partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% increase in overall revenue since 2022
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• DP World Tour / European Tour GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Three-year partnership to redesign the Scottish Open's waste model from ground up. Transformed waste management achieving 100% landfill diversion and significantly improved recycling rates. Won Event Operations Award at 2025 European Tour Group Sustainability Awards.
• Planet MarkcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to measure and track carbon footprint across energy, water, waste, travel, and procurement. Enables accountability and year-on-year improvement verification, with commitment to reduce carbon emissions by at least 5% annually.
• Social BitecoreOthersNational charity tackling homelessness. Over £60,000 donated over three years. Made third £20,000 donation and pledged to match in 2026. Team members participate in fundraising events with donation matching from company.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Veolia UK: UK arm of global environmental services group Veolia, providing commercial waste collection, recycling, and resource recovery. A broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities to large enterprise customers, though more generalised than CWR's specialist hospitality/retail focus.
• Reconomy: UK-based circular economy services provider helping businesses manage waste, recycling, and compliance across multiple sites. Comparable customer base of enterprise multi-site accounts and similar sustainability reporting positioning.
• Viridor: Major UK waste management, recycling, and energy recovery operator. Competes in materials recovery and serves commercial customers, though at significantly larger scale and with a more infrastructure-heavy model.
• Suez Recycling and Recovery UK: Major UK waste management and recycling operator under the global SUEZ group. Competes with CWR for commercial and municipal recycling contracts and offers comparative recycling and resource recovery services at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Clearabee: UK on-demand waste collection and recycling startup focused on commercial customers. Overlaps with CWR's commercial recycling focus but uses a digital-first booking model, representing an emerging alternative for SME customers.

Direct peers

• White Recycling: UK commercial waste and recycling company serving retail, hospitality, and commercial property customers. Comparable mid-market commercial recycling offerings and similar target verticals (retail, hospitality) to CWR.
• Recycling Lives: UK social-enterprise waste management and recycling company combining commercial waste services with charitable impact. Closest peer to CWR's mission-driven positioning, also serving commercial customers with recycled commodity outputs.
• Biffa: One of the UK's largest waste management companies serving commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers across multiple segments. Direct competitor for multi-site retail, hospitality, and public-sector recycling contracts, with broader geographic reach but less bespoke service.
• FCC Environment: UK waste management and recycling services provider serving local authorities and commercial customers. Competes directly in source-segregated recycling, multi-site service contracts, and material recovery facility operations.
• CSH Waste Solutions: UK independent waste management company offering commercial waste collection and recycling services. Similar mid-market focus to CWR with comparable service offerings across general waste and recyclables.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/change-waste-recycling-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/change_waste_recycling

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Change Waste Recycling