01242 620903Recycling Equipment for Retail Businesses
QCR supply recycling equipment to all types of retailers including independent retail shops, large chains and even to some of the UK's most well-known shopping centres.
Recycling more efficiently with the help of a baler or compactor helps retailers to:
- Save Money: Reduce the number of bins needed for shop waste
- Save Time: Reduce the amount of time retail workers spending handling waste
- Save Space: Reduce the number of commercial bins needed at your shop
Below are some examples of the retailers we've helped to recycle their shopfloor waste.
QCR helps Cornish food retailer with their waste problems
QCR supplied a H4 Waste Baler to an award winning independent Cornish retailer to help them handle their cardboard and polythene waste in a more sustainable way than traditional commercial recycling bins.
Before the baler:
- The store previously used 6 x 1100L Commercial Wheelie Bins for cardboard and plastics
- Staff manually compacted boxes, put them into metal cages and then wheeled the cages to the bin store located outside. This process was very labour-intensive causing some team members to be away from the shopfloor for long period of time which was far from ideal.
After the baler:
- The site now only need one 1100L Commercial Wheelie Bin for recyclable material
- The baler is installed in the stockroom reducing the need for staff members to make numerous trips outside to the bin area.
Conclusion: Not only has the installation of a baler helped to cut costs, boost productivity (and also reduce the chance of the dreaded paper cut!), it has also made the stockroom and outside space tidier creating a nicer and more spacious work environment.
High street food retailer installs Cardboard Balers & Commercial Waste Compactors
This leading independent grocery chain offers a wide range of fresh produce, local products, quality wines and craft beers in Scotland. With a loyal customer base, they create lots of cardboard and plastic packaging waste from their stock deliveries and lots of compactable mixed general waste from their day to day operations. Stores varied in size so they wanted a bespoke solution to address the key issues at each store.
Our solutions:
- Installing a 1100L Wheelie Bin Compactor from QCR has reduced the frequency that their commercial general waste bins are emptied by 3:1
- Each store has a QCR Cardboard Baler installed inside the stockroom to bale cardboard packaging into bales
Their savings:
Removing the majority of their cardboard and plastic from their commercial bins has enabled them to reduce their waste costs substantially. The number of bins that need to be emptied have also been reduced resulting in significant savings.
Additional benefits:
- Store security has improved by keeping the rear doors to the stores closed. There is no longer a need for team members to go out to the bins regularly helping to maximise the number of people on the shopfloor.
- Cardboard boxes no longer need to be torn, folded or flattened, saving a huge amount of time and effort.
- Recycling these waste streams significantly enhances their green credentials and helps towards their pledge to reduce their waste going to landfill.
QCR saves online retailer £9,100 per year in skip costs
This successful online retailer asked QCR to provide a free site survey to see if they could make operational and financial savings to the way they dispose of their waste. QCR offered a completely free trial that did not impact on their current waste contract. A QCR H7 Baler was delivered to their premises to trial for an agreed period.
Savings generated by the packaging baler
The baler trial was a great success and resulted in the retailer no longer needing a skip which cost them £350 per empty approximately every 2 weeks.
Selling their cardboard waste
The site now bale all their cardboard box waste and sell the bales in quantities of 10 to a recycler.
Customer Testimonial:
"It's been such a relief to remove the orange skip from our front yard. The warehouse team have been very happy with the baler since the install"
Written by the Site Operations Manager, MM Online Retailer
Retail Recycling FAQ's
1. How can our retail business make money or receive rebates from recycling baled cardboard?
Retailers can make money from baling cardboard however, to get the best financial returns the bales need to be made using a special type of cardboard recycling machine known as a Mill Size Baler. This type of baler requires huge amounts of cardboard packaging to make it a cost-effective choice making it realistically only feasible for retailers creating at least 1000kg of cardboard waste per week. For smaller retailers, the way baling saves them money is using a smaller size of baler that helps them reduce the number of commercial recycling bins they need.
2. Should we rent or buy cardboard compaction equipment for my store?
Due to shifting consumer habits and the cost-of-business crisis, modern retailers are choosing to hire rather than buy cardboard compaction equipment to preserve working capital and give themselves the flexibility to upgrade or return the equipment if their store needs change.
3. What's the biggest recycling mistake made by retail workers?
The biggest recycling mistakes made by retail workers is failing to flatten cardboard boxes and trays before they're thrown away. Skipping this important step in the cardboard recycling process results in the waste taking up more space than necessary in your bins leading to higher overheads for the shop. Other mistakes include forgetting to remove plastic bags and polystyrene from the box before you recycle it.
4. What new recycling legislation will effect retailers in England in 2027?
The two pieces of recycling legislation that retailers need to know about in 2027 are:
- Simpler Recycling Legislation rollout to any retail business with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent (FTE) on 31 Marth 2027
- Deposit Return Scheme launch on 1 October 2027
How QCR Can Help
Managing retail waste effectively benefits both the environment and your bottom line. At QCR, we supply a wide range of recycling equipment for retail businesses designed to help them reduce overheads, reduce manual handling and comply with recycling legislation. We're also SafeContractor™ certified for additional reassurance of professional assistance in your recycling efforts.
Not sure how your shop should handle its recycling? Contact QCR on 01242 620903.
