Sustainability and safety go hand in hand. At Recofloor, safety is at the heart of everything we do, and we take it seriously. By keeping non‑vinyl waste and sharps out of Recofloor containers, it helps create safer working environments and supports healthier conditions for everyone handling the vinyl for Recofloor collections.
Why it matters
Recofloor collections are designed specifically for clean, post‑installation commercial vinyl flooring offcuts and some uplifted vinyl types. Anything outside this like food packaging, drink cups, paper waste, adhesives, glues, site rubbish, or even other type of flooring such as carpets, cushion, laminate or wood creates contamination that:
- Makes material more difficult to recycle
- Slows down processing
- Increases environmental impact
- Raises operational health and safety risks
While general waste causes contamination problems, sharps, food and human waste are a genuine health hazard. Items such as blades, broken metals, screws, cutlery, rotten food, human waste pose a serious risk to:
- Flooring contractors preparing containers for collection
- Drivers transporting the containers
- Warehouse teams handling the containers
- Sorting operatives at recycling facilities
Even a single sharp object can cause a serious injury and often food and human waste may seem harmless at first glance, however the decomposition process releases bacteria, mould and unpleasant odours triggering allergic reactions, respiratory irritation, skin contact issues, amongst others, not to mention the risk of bags bursting during handling putting teams at risks of contact with harmful bacteria.
Healthier people
Creating a safe, clean collection practice benefits your business, your teams, and the circular economy we’re all working to build. It also demonstrates about respecting the wellbeing of drivers, warehouse teams and recyclers who work hard to make the scheme possible.
Keeping general waste and sharps out of Recofloor collection containers keeps everyone safer and small actions on site make a big difference to safe recycling practices, therefore, please ensure that:
- Only acceptable vinyl go into Recofloor containers
- All general waste is disposed of elsewhere
- Sharps are never placed in Recofloor collection containers
- Your teams know where the correct waste streams are located
For a full list of vinyl types acceptable by Recofloor check out our Material Specification. For more details, please contact us 0161 355 7618, info@recofloor.org.
