Plastic Recycling

Navigating plastic waste management can be challenging for UK businesses, especially with constantly evolving regulations. At Parry & Evans, we simplify the process by offering comprehensive plastic recycling management services for businesses in Wales and England.

We handle a wide variety of plastics, including Film, LDPE, HDPE, PET, PP, Laminates, Polystyrene (PS), and Expandable Polystyrene (EPS). Providing you with on-site storage containers and collection schedules – or taking delivery of your waste plastics at our specialist recycling facilities.

There we complete comprehensive on-site waste plastic sorting, as well as plastic granulation shredding for high-quality regrind production, and distribution of other plastics to plastic recycling partners.

Our focus is on creating a Circular Economy, where plastics are efficiently sorted and graded, allowing us to produce Premium Recycled Materials for Re-Manufacturing.

Learn more below about the types of plastic we process, how we sort them, and the Sustainable Solutions we offer to help your business effectively manage plastic waste while meeting all regulatory requirements.

Types of Commercial Plastic We Recycle

At Parry & Evans, we sort and shred plastic on-site including Film, LDPE, HDPE, PET, PP, Laminates, Polystyrene (PS) and Expandable Polystyrene (EPS).

Below are some examples of the common types of commercial plastic waste we collect or take delivery across the UK for recycling.

Hard Plastics

Soft Plastics

To find out more about how Parry & Evans can help you with all of your business’s recycling and waste management needs, visit our Total Waste Management Page (Coming Soon).

Paper Recycling Process

For plastic to be recycled as efficiently as possible it must be sorted into grades based on what materials are used in its manufacture. The Resin Identification Code (RIC) was created to easily classify plastic products’ resin content, with a simple number system that corresponds with the type of plastic resin it contains.

These grades are visible on most plastic products we use daily, instantly recognisable as a number between 1-7 Within The Recycle Logo (three arrows that form a triangle).

Before entering the recycling process, waste plastics are sorted and bundled based on their RIC Number. This has several benefits including making the different plastic grade recycling processes simpler and increasing the purity and quality of the recycled plastic output.

Below is an outline of the different grades included in the Resin Identification Code (RIC).

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Grade 1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE)

PET plastics are known for their clarity, toughness, and resistance to both gas and moisture. These properties make them suitable for products like water bottles, food jars, ovenable film, and other packaging materials. When recycled, PET is commonly used to produce fibres and new drink bottles.

Grade 2: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

HDPE offers excellent toughness, resistance to moisture and chemicals, and is easy to process. It is commonly used for thin products such as milk containers, juice bottles, butter tubs, cereal bags, rubbish bags, wheelie bins, and caps. Recycled HDPE is often turned into plastic crates, recycling bins, agricultural pipes, and pallets.

Grade 3: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

PVC is recognized for its clarity, strength, toughness, and versatility, along with its resistance to grease, oil, and chemicals. This makes it suitable for manufacturing cleaning product bottles, plumbing pipes, medical products, and building windows. When recycled, PVC is typically used to produce pipes and packaging materials.

Grade 4: Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

LDPE is valued for its strength, toughness, flexibility, and moisture barrier properties. It is typically used in products like shopping bags, squeeze bottles, disposable gloves, frozen food containers, and caps. Recycled LDPE can be turned into plastic bags, dispensing bottles, and tubing.

Grade 5: Polypropylene (PP)

Polypropylene’s (PP) properties include being highly versatile with resistance to heat, chemicals, grease, and oil. This makes it perfect for food, condiment and medicine bottles, straws, food storage containers, buckets and bottle caps. Recycled PP is often transformed into rubbish bins, auto parts, industrial fibres, pots, trays, tubs, crates, and pallets.

Grade 6: Polystyrene (PS)

Polystyrene Plastics (PS) are favoured in the single-use manufacturing industry due to being lightweight, versatile and insulating properties. Common PS products include disposable coffee cups, cutlery, food boxes, and packaging foam. Recycled PS is used to manufacture insulation boards and picture frames.

Grade 7: Miscellaneous Plastics

The final category is for any plastics that do not fit within the other six grades. These are often called ‘Mixed Plastics’ and are found in multi-layer food packaging, large water containers and medical storage containers. When recycled, miscellaneous plastics are manufactured into custom-made products like car parts or composite construction materials like decking or fencing.

Paper-Packaging Waste Legislation

For businesses that produce commercial plastic waste (especially in the product packaging industry), it may seem that recycling regulations and legal requirements are ever-changing.

At Parry & Evans, we have a dedicated Environmental Regulations Manager and a team of recycling specialists who help you better manage to recycle your waste plastic.

We work with you to create a tailored waste management plan to fit your unique company requirements. Starting with helping you to identify opportunities to reduce plastic use in your business, before calculating the best plastic recycling storage containers for you to use on-site and scheduling set collection times.

Helping you to guarantee that your commercial plastic waste is managed as sustainably as possible, whilst adhering to all of the Required Regional and Legal Regulations – with all of the Relevant Paperwork.

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Our Commercial Plastic Recycling Containers

At Parry & Evans, we apply the recycling hierarchy to every material we handle, and plastic is no exception. Our dedicated team collaborates closely with you and your staff to first promote the Prevention and Reduction of Plastic Waste in your business from the source.

We then focus on reusing materials wherever possible, before creating a Bespoke Waste Plastic Storage and Management Plan for you. Our plans are tailored to the amount of plastic waste or recycling you produce, with a wide selection of on-site containers for easy storage available (see below). We also create a Customised Pick-Up Schedule for our friendly collection teams to pick up your waste plastics for recycling.

Standard 240L Wheelie Bins

1100L Eurobins

20-yard & 40-Yard Roll-On-Off Skips

Compactor Skips

Front-End Loading Containers

Curtain Slider Trucks (44 Bale Capacity)

To find out more about how Parry & Evans can help you with all of your business’s recycling and waste management needs, visit our Total Waste Management Page (Coming Soon).

Plastic Recycling FAQs

Yes, although not always accepted by curb-side pick-ups in the UK, soft plastics including shopping bags and packaging films can be recycled. Soft plastics require specialist facilities to process them effectively as their flimsy properties mean that they tend to get tangled in standard machinery.

At Parry & Evans, we have two purpose-built recycling centres that can effectively sort and manage your business’s soft plastic waste. To help you guarantee that you are managing your commercial waste in the most sustainable and environmentally friendly way possible.

Plastics sent for recycling are sorted and categorised into seven grades based on their chemical composition and properties. The most common grades include:

Grade 1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) – Often used for water bottles and food containers.

Grade 2: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) – Common in milk jugs, detergent bottles, and plastic bags.

Grade 3: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) – Found in pipes, window frames, and some packaging.

Grade 4: Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) – Used for plastic wraps, shopping bags, and squeeze bottles.

Grade 5: Polypropylene (PP) – Frequently seen in food containers, bottle caps, and straws.

Grade 6: Polystyrene (PS) – Used for disposable cups, cutlery, and insulation.

Grade 7: Other Plastics – This includes miscellaneous plastics that don’t fit into the above categories, such as polycarbonate and bioplastics.

At Parry & Evans, we either sort on-site or work with specialist recycling partners to sort the plastics we receive into their respective grades.

The plastic sorting process is done through manual sorting by our ground teams, automated systems using optical sensors, and density separation methods like sink-float tanks, which distinguish plastics based on weight.

By segregating and processing plastics into grades, we simplify the recycling process and maximise the potential of all the plastic we process to be recycled into high-quality products – supporting our mission to create a circular economy and divert commercial waste from landfills.

Plastic granulation is a specialised recycling process that converts waste plastic into high-quality granulated material, called plastic regrind. The plastic granulation process involves shredding, washing, sorting, and granulating plastic waste into small, uniform particles that are ready for reuse in the manufacturing of new recycled plastic products.

At Parry & Evans, our Plastic Granulation Service handles a wide variety of plastics, including end-of-life products, redundant or discontinued plastic stock, food packaging, and manufacturing waste. We have the capacity to process items of all sizes (from small bottle caps to large wheelie bins) ensuring that every piece of plastic is maximised for its recycling potential.

The high-quality plastic regrind produced is a well-sought-after sustainable manufacturing material in the plastic production industry. Used in applications that use injection moulding, extrusion, and compounding, to create new plastic goods like packaging materials, automotive parts, and construction products.