1. What is Recofloor?
Recofloor is a national commercial collection service that provides the flooring industry with a green method of disposing of waste vinyl flooring for recycling. The material collected is used to produce new flooring or alternative products used in traffic management.
Founded by Altro and Polyflor in a joint commitment to reduce the impact of vinyl flooring on the environment, the scheme primarily serves and offers many benefits to flooring distributors, contractors, and construction companies.
A secondary engagement with architects, specifiers, and facility managers is also offered.
2. What are the benefits of participating in the scheme?
Participating in Recofloor helps companies boost their profile and reduce their carbon emissions. Using Recofloor to dispose of your waste will also allow you to save money. It can also help expand your business by offering your customers a sustainable route for disposing of their waste.
Companies who sign up can also take advantage of free publicity and advertising. After registering, you will receive a certificate of commitment and the option to obtain statement letters as proof of your involvement, diversion figures, and CO2 savings. Furthermore, you may achieve a Recofloor award for your efforts and work to demonstrate your sustainability commitment
3. Who can specify/deploy Recofloor?
Recofloor’s collection service can be specified and deployed by a UK flooring contractor or construction company for almost any new or refurbishment building project, from offices and retail schemes to hospitals, schools, and major housing developments.
Collaboration and support from all parties involve on site is expected at some point so that the collections can run smoothly.
4. Is there a cost?
Contractors and fitters are permitted to drop off minimal daily amounts at distributor drop-off locations free of charge.
For larger quantities, we encourage you to deploy the scheme for collections from your premises or directly from the site. With our free bulk bag collection service and low bulk bag prices, you can expect considerable cost savings compared to landfill or skips.
For bulk bags to be dispatched and collected from:
Contractor premises: £10 per bag.
Job site/project: £17.50 per bag.
For pre-agreed* bins to be dispatched and collected from:
Contractor premises: £17.50 per bin.
Job site/project: £35 per bin.
Payment is made upfront when you order the bulk bags or bin deliveries/replacements.
A minimum of 2 bulk bags per collection is usually required but optional. In the event of roll-ends, payment will be taken when you book the collection.
*The provision of bins must be agreed upon with the Recofloor team, and T&Cs apply. Contact Recofloor to discuss collection containers.
Saving example:
- Four wheelie bins of materials (£140) will fill one 8cuyd skip (around £255.00 per skip, saving circa £115.00)—or 45% Savings for using Recofloor.
- Six wheelie bins of materials (£210) will fill one 12cuyd skip (around £332.00 per skip, saving circa £122.00)—or 36% Savings for using Recofloor.
The cost savings calculator is a useful tool that contractors can use to work out savings.
5. Which vinyl floorings can I collect for recycling?
Through Recofloor, contractors can collect their Altro and Polyflor vinyl flooring for recycling (other brands may also be collected) providing they meet the below criteria:
Post-consumer waste:
- Smooth vinyl flooring with a clean surface and not more than 3mm of adhesive or screed
- loose lay
Installation waste:
- smooth vinyl flooring offcuts
- safety vinyl flooring offcuts
- loose lay
- luxury vinyl tiles offcuts
Roll-ends:
- safety vinyl flooring
- smooth vinyl flooring
Click here further information on material specifications.
6. How long can collections take?
Collection can take anywhere from four to ten days. You can book collections online using our contractor order form. Timed collections are available. However, they need to be pre-approved.
7. Which collection containers would I receive?
You will receive Recofloor bulk bags and in some cases we can supply metal bins for jobsites. The collection containers are branded and help keep the waste streams separate.
Bins – Each bin is 1m3 and holds roughly 200m2 of vinyl flooring. The bin usually weighs 400 to 500 kg when full.
Bulk Bags -Each bulk bag is 1m3 and holds around 250 to 300kg of vinyl flooring.Recofloor also provides clear labelled sacks, and each bag holds around 10-12m2 of flooring. The clear sacks come in handy in transporting the waste and keeping the uplifted flooring separate.
8. How does the collection service work?
The Recofloor collection services are quite straightforward. You may sign up as a drop-off site user to transport your vinyl waste to any drop-off locations around the UK if you have minimal amounts of daily material that needs to be disposed of. If you have larger quantities of waste, Recofloor will collect from your job site or premises across the UK.
9. Do I need to register for a waste exemption for storing the material?
No, the supply of Recofloor collection containers for vinyl flooring collection comes under the NWFD 4 category of temporary storage at a collection location.
Since the waste is regarded as a low level of risk, you are free from registration with the Environment Agency providing you comply with the exemption requirements. Here are the exemption requirements you must follow:
- The waste collection must take place at a collection point, and the waste must be in a secure container.
- You can store waste temporarily, not longer than three months.
- You can store at most 50 cubic meters at any one time.
10. Do I need a waste carrier license?
If you deploy Recofloor on a project site and the collection takes place from onsite, you don’t need to register for a license, as our transport will have this in place. However, by law, contractors must get a lower-tier Waste Carrier’s License before carrying waste, so if you transport the waste from a project to your premises or a drop-off location, you need to register.
The license is free, and we advise you to obtain one as it can improve your chances of winning more work and using the scheme.
11. Will I receive a waste transfer note for my collection?
Yes, you will receive an email containing the waste transfer note immediately after collection.
