Leeds Wood Recycling CIC

What Leeds Wood Recycling CIC does

Leeds Wood Recycling CIC is a UK Community Interest Company established in 2018 and based at a single warehouse and retail premises on Croydon Street, Leeds (LS11 9RT). It operates a chargeable wood waste collection service using a 12-cubic-yard caged van, collecting pallets, packaging and construction offcuts from businesses, construction sites, theatres, production companies, engineers and private homeowners, positioning itself as a cost-competitive alternative to skip hire. The collected wood is brought back to the warehouse, manually sorted and processed, then resold as reclaimed timber, sheet materials, hardware, firewood, bespoke products (planters, shelving, pallet wall kits, bike sheds) and value-added services (cutting, sanding, staining, finishing), with the retail channel comprising both a physical shop (Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm) and an online store.

The company's underlying technology is deliberately low-tech: a labour-intensive manual wood sorting and repurposing operation, with no disclosed software platform, proprietary IP or automation. This is the operational foundation of its social mission — the manual processing creates volunteer training and employment opportunities for marginalised people, supported by a volunteer programme (2,198.275 hours contributed to date) and paid woodwork courses. The organisation holds UK Upper Tier (CBDU528517) and Lower Tier (CBDL245169) registered waste carrier licences and operates as part of The National Community Wood Recycling Project network.

Revenue is generated through three streams: a service-based wood collection charge, one-off retail sales of reclaimed timber and finished products, and bespoke sanding/finishing services. As a CIC with an asset lock, profits are reinvested for community benefit rather than distributed, and the operation is supplemented by grants from funders including the National Lottery Community Fund and Leeds Community Fund. The company is small (6 employees) and geographically confined to Leeds, with no parent company or institutional investment disclosed.

Name

Leeds Wood Recycling CIC

Legal name

Leeds Wood Recycling CIC

Website

https://leedswoodrecycling.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Leeds Wood Recycling CIC is a Leeds-based social enterprise that collects commercial and domestic waste wood, processes it manually into reclaimed timber and finished products, and sells these through a retail shop and collection service while providing volunteer training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Wood Recycling and Reclaimed Timber Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211), All Other Miscellaneous Wood Product Manufacturing (321999)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers (5211)

akta.pro primary industry

Wood Waste Processing & Recycling (Mulch/Biomass) (BPALAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wood Waste Processing & Recycling (Mulch, Biomass Feedstock) (EUAIAHAE)

Keywords

• Waste wood collection
• Reclaimed timber retail
• Wood recycling services
• Social enterprise training
• Sustainable timber sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wood Collection Service: Chargeable wood waste collection service for businesses and individuals, competing with skip hire companies. Service includes pickup of waste wood from various sources including pallets, packaging, construction sites, and renovations.
2. Reclaimed Timber and Product Sales: Retail sales of processed and repurposed reclaimed timber, sheet materials, timber products (planter kits, scaffold shelving, pallet wood walls), hardware (screws, glue, ironmongery, wood finishes), firewood, kindling, and finished products like bike sheds.
3. Sanding and Finishing Services: Value-added processing services including cutting, sanding, staining, and finishing of wood materials for customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Leeds Wood Recycling CIC operates a chargeable waste wood collection service that picks up wood waste from businesses, construction sites, theatres, and private households using a 12 cubic yard caged van. Collected wood is brought to its Leeds warehouse, manually sorted, processed, and repurposed, then sold through a retail shop and online store as reclaimed timber, sheet materials, bespoke products (planters, shelving, bike sheds), hardware, and firewood. The social enterprise also provides sanding and finishing services, woodwork courses, and volunteer training programmes for marginalized individuals.

Product overview

Leeds Wood Recycling is a social enterprise operating as a single unified offering (not a platform-plus-modules architecture) centred on waste wood collection and reclaimed timber retail. The core business combines a chargeable waste wood collection service with a public-facing reclaimed timber shop, supported by ancillary services including sanding and finishing, bespoke wood products (planters, shelving, bike sheds), hardware sales, and firewood. Additional offerings include woodwork training courses and volunteer opportunities. The collection service feeds the shop inventory, creating a circular economy model.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Waste Wood Collection Service

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of collected wood waste is sorted, repurposed and recycled
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The National Community Wood Recycling ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeeds Wood Recycling is part of this national network of community wood recycling enterprises, providing brand association, shared best practices, and network collaboration for community-based wood recycling operations.
• Egger (Timberpak)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerTimber materials supplier. Egger's Timberpak division supplies wood materials to the organization.
• Community Wood Recycling (National)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational umbrella organization for community wood recycling projects, supporting coordination and best practice sharing across the network.
• Northern MonkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal brewery partnership, potentially for barrel reuse or community engagement initiatives.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Veolia UK: Major UK waste management and recycling operator with national collection infrastructure. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for commercial wood and construction waste contracts.
• HIPPO Waste: National skip hire brand directly named as a competitor in Leeds Wood Recycling's positioning. Competes head-to-head for the same construction and renovation wood waste customers.
• Biffa: One of the UK's largest waste management companies, providing commercial waste collection including wood waste streams across the country. Broader portfolio but directly competes for the same wood waste customer base in Leeds.
• Wickes: UK DIY and builder merchant retail chain selling timber, sheet materials, and hardware — the same products Leeds Wood Recycling sells through its reclaimed shop, but at national scale and standard rather than reclaimed specifications.

Direct peers

• The National Community Wood Recycling Project: UK-wide network of community wood recycling social enterprises; Leeds Wood Recycling is a member, sharing the same collection-and-reclaim model and beneficiary base. Comparable as the umbrella organisation for direct peer replication of the model.
• Edinburgh Wood Recycling: Scottish community wood recycling social enterprise with a collection service and reclaimed timber shop. Direct peer with overlapping service lines, customer base, and social mission.
• Brighton & Hove Wood Recycling Project: Brighton-based community wood recycling social enterprise offering waste wood collection and reclaimed timber sales. Operates the same CIC-style model in a different UK region, making it a near-identical functional peer.
• Bath Wood Recycling: Bath-based community wood recycling social enterprise offering waste wood collection and timber sales. Operates the same CIC-style social enterprise model in a separate UK region.
• Norwich Wood Recycling: Norwich-based community wood recycling enterprise operating within the National Community Wood Recycling Project. Directly comparable as a regional sister operation with the same collection, retail, and volunteer training mix.

Others

• Egger (Timberpak): UK timber panel manufacturer whose Timberpak division is already a supplier to Leeds Wood Recycling. Relevant as a supplier-side relationship and broader comparable for wood materials trading in the region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leeds-wood-recycling

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Leeds Wood Recycling CIC