Express ProductsResearch reveals changes in how businesses are thinking about and complying with the new regulations.
It has been multiple months since Simpler Recycling 2025 has come into effect, and businesses across the country are transforming their waste management infrastructure to remain compliant with the new requirements.
Back in February of this year, Glasdon commissioned a survey of 300 decision makers to see how businesses were handling preparations in the lead-up to the 31st March deadline. Now, as the legislation falls into place, we’ve commissioned another survey of a further 300 decision makers to learn how well businesses are coping with the transition.*
Awareness Remains High
When asked about Simpler Recycling, the vast majority of respondents in our original survey said they were familiar with the changes being introduced, and this remained virtually identical in our most recent survey. Clearly, Simpler Recycling remains on the minds of most business decision makers.
What has shifted significantly, however, is the share of decision makers that are ‘very familiar’ with Simpler Recycling as compared to ‘somewhat familiar’, with more businesses now having a greater understanding of the legislation compared to earlier in the year.
As recycling programs get rolled out across the country and decision makers finalise their plans, business awareness will naturally continue to rise.
Not Compliant Yet? You’re Not Alone
In February, just 42% of businesses said they were fully prepared for Simpler Recycling, whereas 47% claimed they were ‘somewhat prepared’ for the changes.
Two months down the line, the majority of businesses (54%) now say they are fully compliant, a 12-point rise from February. Non-compliance has also shrunk dramatically, falling by about half since the earlier survey. Despite this, plenty of businesses are still in the midst of preparing for the regulations, and are not yet compliant with Simpler Recycling.
As expected, compliance is slowly but steadily rising as organisations work through implementation and begin launching their recycling schemes. As the year progresses, we’ll likely see compliance become even more widespread as more and more businesses finalise their plans.
Businesses Don’t Expect An Immediate Transition
Among businesses that are not yet fully compliant with Simpler Recycling, many are still working through the process and aim to reach compliance later in the year.
Difficulties reaching compliance seem to be fairly common, which could be down to anything from budgeting to procurement, illustrating the severity of the obstacles facing decision makers as they attempt to conform to the new rules.
Most businesses are expecting to finalise their schemes by the end of the year, although a select few admit that their timelines could extend even further, into 2026.
Ultimately, it appears that many businesses will still be working towards compliance well after the deadline, giving decision makers the much-needed time to meet the required standard.
Allocated Budgets For Simpler Recycling Vary
In February, 79% of businesses had already set a budget for Simpler Recycling, a group that only increased further in our most recent survey. As found previously, budgets ranged from less than £10k up to six figures, depending on the size and nature of each business.
This time, a higher proportion of businesses were setting lower budgets compared to the previous survey. While this might suggest a trend of businesses spending less to reach compliance, these changes are largely driven by an influx of smaller (100-249 employees) and medium (250-499 employees) businesses that have now set their budgets, whilst larger businesses (500+ employees) with more resources had already done so in preparation.
Businesses Are Taking Different Approaches To Purchasing
When asked how much they were prepared to pay for a commercial recycling bin or unit, decision makers once again had a broad range of responses.
In our February survey, the most popular pricing had 31% of businesses expressing interest at a range between £200-£299. Even so, many decision makers were prepared to pay different amounts, both more expensive and less.
Our more recent survey saw a slight drop in the amount businesses were willing to pay - fewer decision makers said they would be prepared to procure at the higher price points, while most other price ranges retained similar or the same levels of interest as before. This may be caused by any number of reasons, such as decision makers becoming more familiar with the market, supplier competition driving down prices, or budgets being stretched too thin.
Regardless, the broad range of responses received highlights the distinct approach that different businesses and decision makers are taking for Simpler Recycling, with some focusing on more affordable solutions, and others investing in more robust recycling units.
Quality Is Paramount (Again)
As ever, decision makers say that quality is the most important characteristic when it comes to purchasing new recycling bins.
Over half (57%) of business decision makers reported that quality is one of the most important factors when making purchasing decisions for their Simpler Recycling scheme. That is up from our previous survey, in which slightly fewer (but still a majority) said the same (52%). Ease of use (42%) has also shot up as the second most important characteristic, with many respondents looking for bin units that are easy to operate and maintain.
Interestingly, price has fallen from the second most important characteristic (37%) to the fifth-most (28%), being overtaken by capacity (35%) and sustainable materials (31%), which are now considered more important than cost. This illustrates that, as businesses come face to face with the hurdles that Simpler Recycling presents, the need to procure compliant, quality bins over cheaper, less capable alternatives becomes central to their purchasing decisions.
Need Help With Compliance?
Simpler Recycling has transformed waste management, and the data shows that many businesses are struggling to keep up with the new changes. One of the most critical steps in conforming to the new regulations is purchasing compliant and quality recycling bin units.
Whether starting from scratch or putting the finishing touches on your recycling scheme, Glasdon can provide the right solution for you. We operate with a philosophy of Quality by Design, which is present in our detailed product design process right through to our comprehensive quality assurance measures, ensuring increased durability and ease-of-use.
Browse our range of simpler recycling-compliant bins to find the right solution for your premises.
*February 2025 survey: The research was conducted by Opinion Matters, among a sample of 300 x decision makers within businesses in the private sector (guaranteeing 100 in business employing 100-249 people, 100 in businesses employing 250-499 people and 100 in businesses employing 500+ people) with responsibility/influence into food waste and recycling collections for their England-based business. The data was collected between 14.02.2025 - 24.02.2025. Opinion Matters abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Opinion Matters is also a member of the British Polling Council.
April 2025 survey: The research was conducted by Opinion Matters, among a sample of 300 decision makers (aged 25+) within businesses in the private sector (guaranteeing 100 in business employing 100-249 people, 100 in businesses employing 250-499 people and 100 in businesses employing 500+ people) with responsibility/influence into food waste and recycling collections for their England-based business. The data was collected between 22.04.2025 - 28.04.2025. Opinion Matters abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Opinion Matters is also a member of the British Polling Council.
