Preparing for ‘Simpler Recycling’ in the Workplace - How WBM Ltd Can Help

From 31 March 2025, all businesses in England must comply with the new  Simpler Recycling rules, designed by the Government to standardise waste collection and increase rates of active recycling. While these regulations cover all types of waste, plastics recycling remains a key area of focus. For businesses using printer consumables, WBM Ltd provides the leading recycling solution, which offers a seamless, compliant, and sustainable recycling service to help organisations meet their obligations.

Understanding the New Regulations

The Simpler Recycling legislation requires workplaces to separate recyclable materials, ensuring they do not end up in general waste. This includes plastic waste, such as empty toner cartridges and printer consumables, which often contain valuable raw materials that can be reused. To ensure the regulations are followed, from April 2025, the general public and other parties will be able to report workplaces that do not follow these rules to the Environment Agency.

The Problem with Printer Consumables Waste

The print industry has previously failed to comprehensively address its environmental responsibilities, due to the lack of genuinely environmentally beneficial solutions for its waste.

Each year, millions of toner cartridges and printer consumables are discarded, many of which end up in landfill or incineration. This waste contributes to environmental pollution and the loss of reusable materials. With stricter recycling laws coming into force, businesses must adopt more responsible disposal methods and ensure they use officially recognised waste collectors.  

WBM Ltd’s Sustainable Recycling Solution

At WBM Ltd, we provide businesses with an easy and environmentally friendly way to recycle printer consumables. Our service includes:

Collection Boxes  These can be delivered directly to end-users and are designed to hold 15-25 printer cartridges and other consumables. They are provided with a recyclable bag to contain the items and prevent leaking, as well as seal tape for the box.

Hassle-Free Collection When the boxes are full, we collect them, and a certificate of recycling is provided for your compliance records. We also issue the Waste Transfer Note on your behalf, to record the movement of your waste. All the boxes are returned to our 33,000ft2 premises in Oldham.

Advanced Recycling Process Due to our partnership with all major OE Manufacturers, our priority is to ensure as many items can be reused as possible. At our facility in Oldham, we identify, sort and package items that can be reused – these are then sent to the OE Manufacturer’s factory to be made good for reuse. All non-reusable items are processed to recover the raw materials, we break down the consumables into separated materials, we clean and extract contaminants such as toner / ink and supply the recovered plastic and metals to other industries for repurposing. As an example, the by-product we supply can be used in products like recycled furniture, traffic cones, and even road surfacing.

Zero Landfill Commitment Our strategy is to provide the print industry channels with a UK-based, low-cost solution for the recycling of all printer consumables that achieves zero-landfill and <1% incineration targets. We processed over 276,136 tonnes in 2024 and our target is to achieve 500 tonnes annually by 2027.

Why Choose WBM Ltd?

Assured Compliance We are registered with Upper Tier status with the Environment Agency, which can be checked in their Register of Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers. Businesses must work with a registered waste carrier to meet legal requirements. WBM Ltd helps you to fulfil your Duty of Care and ensures that your waste is handled responsibly, processed correctly, and fully documented, reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties. Along with our other licenses and permit exemptions, this level of accreditation also provides assurance to businesses that materials are ethically recycled rather than illegally dumped or incinerated.

Sustainability for the Future Our closed-loop recycling process maximises reuse opportunities and turns the waste items into valuable materials for new products. We are continuously striving for new ways to improve our process’s efficiency while reducing our impact on the environment. We work with the Sustainable Materials Hub within the Henry Royce Institute at Manchester University and Huddersfield University to test our technology and suggest ways to improve our capabilities in all areas.

Simple to use On-line Service We provide a simple collection and certification process, to help businesses meet the regulations effortlessly. This can be accessed via our on-line portal, for all users, where customers can order more boxes or arrange collections. Full history can be found along with the downloadable documents required for your environmental audits.

Recycling is Simpler, with WBM Ltd

Partnering with WBM Ltd ensures compliance while supporting a greener future. Contact us today to set up your workplace recycling solution. Call on: 0161 338 5208 or email on: info@wbmltd.co.uk