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Recycling is all about conserving resources and energy and reducing harmful emissions for the future of our world. Here’s how to boost your Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR) rates, whether you’re a multi-site organisation or a SME, and engage with the circular economy.
We know we should be recycling as much as possible. Legislation is also forcing our hand, but making it happen undeniably creates pain points for businesses.
Mandating separated waste streams – paper and card, food waste, and plastics, glass and metals (the latter being the DMR stream) – the April 2025 roll out of the government’s Simpler Recycling initiative for operations in England with more than 10 employees was not greeted with joy by everyone. Indeed, around 60% of businesses surveyed in early 2025 were not prepared for the April deadline, citing space constraints for multiple bins (especially in the hospitality and commercial sectors), a lack of time to organise and monitor the set-up, and the cost of additional services.
Simpler Recycling
Fast forward to now and reports suggest that that large percentage of unpreparedness was rapidly turned around and, by the end of 2025 and into this year, there was a year-on-year uplift in recycling volumes across England, eg, 67% in food waste, and 34% for dry mixed recycling.* These encouraging initial results are not wholly surprising since the precedent set by Wales, where mandated workplace recycling was set in motion in April 2024, also showed a similar uptake and increase in recyclable materials.
Find out moreAn incomplete picture
These sorts of percentage uplifts, however, don’t necessarily reflect the whole story. Businesses may still struggle to fully comply with regulations and maximise their DMR rates because of contamination issues, more complex packaging designs and the upward creep of costs. Let’s take a closer look at each of these issues.
Contamination
Quite simply, the greatest cause of condemning entire batches of recyclable materials to landfill, is residues from substances such as food, oil, grease and cleaning products. Plastics, tin, glass or card, for example, that are wet or soiled contaminate the rest of the bin and may well mean that well-intentioned waste ends up buried in the ground, somewhere in the world. The term ‘Dry Mixed Recycling’ is highly descriptive of the state recyclable waste needs to be disposed in to make it re-usable, ie, dry and cleaned of residues.
If you operate in the hospitality sector, where food waste and contamination of DMR containers and packaging are a fact of life, speak to one of our customer support team here at Restore Recycle on 0800 376 4422 about your needs and how we can help you increase your rates in dry mixed recyclables (with emphasis on the word ‘dry’).
Complex packaging design
A further factor is that modern packaging often combines materials such as plastic and tin foil, foil and card. These composites are difficult to separate, and require specialist mechanical, chemical or thermal processes, not the standardised set-ups of many DMR services. If you produce volumes of composite materials, Restore Recycle is well placed to give you advice for their sustainable disposal – speak to us!
Creeping costs
Regulatory compliance usually implies changing the way businesses run themselves and these changes do incur a cost. If you comply with separated waste streams but have no professional provider to collect them regularly, not only will you potentially create more work for yourself in having to tidy up those unregulated bins, but you also suffer from higher costs when you have to book ad hoc collections. Costs are controlled by simple set-ups and regular collections by a specialist waste business.
Why choose DMR with Restore Recycle?
Our systems and processes are easy to understand and easy to run, wherever you are in the UK (not just England) and no matter how many sites you operate. We have the capacity and the scale to cope.
Labelled bins – designated DMR bins with clear labels for easy sorting and contamination prevention. This ensures your recyclables end up in the right place for a streamlined, sustainable approach to waste management.
Regular pick-ups – we tailor mixed waste collection schedules to your volume requirements so there are no more overflowing bins or scrambles to manage your recycling. Easier on your workplace environment and easier on your time.
Customer support – our dedicated DMR team is always available to answer your questions, solve problems and give guidance on successful DMR practices.
The benefits are quick to realise
Convenience
with plastics, metals and glass belonging in just one waste stream, the DMR stream, you save time and effort
Enhanced recycling rates
when recycling is straightforward and well understood, more people participate
Environmental benefits
by recycling, we help conserve natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote a more sustainable circular economy
Compliance
with Simpler Recycling and other environmental legislation helps boost your reputation and customer engagement.
Are you still playing catch up?
Acting now can transform what might seem like a regulatory cost into a long-term driver of growth, reputation, and efficiency. Reach out to customer support on 0800 376 4422 or via our online form, and one of our knowledgeable recycling team will talk you through your options and the benefits of DMR with us. We look forward to helping you plan for the future (of our planet)!
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