FAQs

Our closed-loop plastic bins come in our signature blue colour to make bins easily identifiable, both for your staff and our collection operatives. If you require bins or containers that will blend in easily with your working environment, we recommend the use of our secure cabinets. These come in grey as standard but are available in a range of colours and can also be custom-wrapped with your own designs. Please note that custom wrapping will come with an additional charge.

Yes. We are flexible to all sorts of requirements. We have some customers who require daily services and others who may only need a service every couple of months.

We also offer flexibility for customers such as schools, which need regular services but are closed over the summer.

No, you don't have to use our bins or bags. Many of our customers use bin liners or archive boxes. As long as they are carryable by one operative, we can take them.

We will collect bags, boxes, or pallets of material - as long as they are sealed or lidded to prevent your items from blowing away or falling out. Your containers must also not be wet, flimsy, or otherwise likely to fall apart. We define this as a maximum weight of 15kg.

We are happy to accommodate one-off, ad-hoc, and regular collections.

We can, but additional charges may apply.

Yes. We provide a digital Waste Transfer Note at the point of collection via email. A Waste Transfer Note is provided with every service, and you should retain this document for 2 years to demonstrate that your waste Duty of Care has been fulfilled.

We can collect your waste however often you want us to. Our regular services are available daily, multiple times per week, weekly, fornightly, monthly, or every two months. We can also provide services on a one-off or ad-hoc basis, where you simply contact us as and when you're ready for a service.

Once your quote is accepted, we can agree on a suitable date to perform the service. How soon we can come depends on our route availability in your area. Our average wait time is under a week. If you need an urgent service performed within 24 hours, this is something we can arrange, but additional charges may apply.

We will send a live service tracking link on the day of your service, confirming your route position and the driver’s current position. You are also welcome to phone our customer service team the working day before your collection is due for a rough estimated time of arrival.

For services where we dedicate a vehicle to your collection, e.g. full-day or multiple-day shredding services, we can accommodate your required start and finish times. Our sales team will be able to discuss these options with you.

Once a regular schedule is agreed upon, your service will be automatically added to our routes. You don't have to call us; our services will operate seamlessly and we can provide a dated service schedule document in advance for you to reference.

As a regular customer, we can also set you up to use our online portal. On the portal, you can view your upcoming collection dates, past collection dates, as well as all of your Waste Transfer Notes and Certificates of Destruction.

On the day of your service, we'll also send out a live service tracker to your site representative. This means you don't have to work your entire day around our visit, or call to find out where we are.

A recycling company recycles, but is not designed to comply with privacy legislation and GDPR surrounding the disposal of confidential materials. Our services go beyond a standard recycling service. Shred Station ensures your materials are completely destroyed, helping you to protect your information and comply with data protection regulations.

Our shredding and destruction services are approved for UK government use. Our customers include defence agencies, police forces, central and local government, embassies, the armed forces, NHS trusts, and many other public sector organisations. We also service private businesses, charities, NGOs, small businesses, sole traders, and residential customers. No job is too big or too small, and we treat all customers the same.

With on-site services, your materials are destroyed at your premises on board a secure shredding vehicle. On-site vehicles are equipped with industrial shredding machines, and you can witness the destruction take place from ground-level.

With off-site services, we will collect your materials in a secure, discreetly branded truck. Our operatives will collect your materials, place them into locked containers, and transport them back to our destruction facilities for immediate processing. Our vehicles and facilities are covered by constant 360 CCTV, and our vehicles are also GPS tracked for enhanced security in transit.

Our prices are highly competitive. The reason our services are such good value is partly because we're an independent business. We aren't obligated by shareholders to maximise profits at every opportunity. Instead, we reinvest our profits into growth, service improvements, staff training, and much more. This means the service we provide is always exceptional, and we can adapt quickly to suit changes in customer requirements, keeping our flow of customers steady. Another factor is our operational costs. While we offer full UK coverage, we also operate from fewer sites than some of our larger competitors, meaning lower overheads. This allows us to pass these cost savings on to our customers.

Every customer's reason for choosing a shredding service and waste management provider is unique. High-priority items on your checklist might include accreditations, good value pricing, high customer review scores, environmental credentials, or something as simple as how fast we can get to you. We understand these wants, and we do everything we can do make sure we exceed expectations.

We're fully accredited. We do everything in line with industry standards. Our pricing is highly competitive. Our review scores speak for themselves, leading the industry. We're the first and only lifetime carbon-neutral certified shredding company in the UK. We consistently innovate to make your services better. We operate across the nation, and we're the largest independent shredding service provider in the world.

Why wouldn't you choose Shred Station?

Unfortunately, we cannot return your shredded paper to you. This is because we mix your shredded fragments with millions of other fragments as an additional security step.

No, however, we can shred these items separately. Please contact our sales team for a quotation and instructions on preparing your materials for collection.

Yes, as long as it is in wheeled bins or bags and isn’t contaminated by a sewer leak, for example. If your paper is completely sodden or has become mouldy, we may have to destroy it off-site. Our sales team will be able to confirm this with you.

If you have a working lift, our operatives will collect bins, bags, and boxes from all floors. If you have boxes or bags stored above or below ground-level without lift access, we can arrange a collection. However, we would require prior notice and this would be priced separately.

Our customers with large or secure sites, such as hospitals or prisons, often prefer to have us collect from a central ground-level location. This causes minimal disturbance and is often the fastest solution.

No. This is one of the key benefits of using a shredding service provider. Our industrial shredders can handle these items with ease, and they are easy to remove during the recycling process.

We perform our services in line with EN 15713 standards (the European Standard) rather than DIN 66399 (the German Standard). This is because EN 15713 covers all aspects of shredding service security, including shred size, whereas DIN only covers shred size. You can find more information about the differences between DIN 66399 and EN 15713 in our help guide.

Yes. You will receive a Certificate of Destruction via email. With on-site services, this is provided instantly. With off-site services, it may take a few days for us to process the certificate, but it will be sent within 72 hours guaranteed.

We will supply shredding bins for regular customers and for large office clear-outs. All of the confidential waste bins we supply are lockable and have a slot in the top or the front to place materials through. You can also purchase bins from our online shop if you'd like a confidential waste bin without a regular shredding service.

We request authorisation in writing to supply keys and typically restrict these to certain staff, as your bins are likely to contain internally confidential information.

When it comes to confidential waste, trust is vital. We go above and beyond to ensure our service security is watertight. We are the largest independent shredding service provider in the world as a result of earning this trust, and our shredding services are approved for UK government use.

We are fully accredited and comply with all BS EN 15713 standards. These standards include security vetting all employees to BS7858 standards as a minimum, using CCTV and GPS-monitored vehicles, and operating from secure premises. We are also members of the BSIA and UKSSA - the UK's leading trade associations for the shredding industry. Our Commercial Director is also Chair of the BSIA's information destruction section, putting us at the forefront of all changes to UK shredding requirements.

Our shredders are extremely fast. Our on-site shredding vehicles can destroy around 600,000 sheets per hour - or around 160 boxes. Our depot-based shredders can each destroy 100+ tonnes of paperwork per day.

The cost of your service can depend on a variety of factors. For instance:

• Do you want the service on-site at your premises, or off-site at a secure destruction centre?
• Is it just a one-off requirement you have, or do you need regular services?
• How many bags or boxes do you have for shredding?

All of these questions will help our sales team to find the best and most cost-effective option for your needs. You can submit a quote request by clicking the 'get a quote' button at the top of your screen.

Shred Station’s pricing is often the most cost-effective option available to the UK market. Our coverage is UK-wide, and the placement of our destruction centres means our operating costs are much lower than other shredding companies. As a result, we can pass these savings on to you.

Shredding costs can depend on a variety of factors including the volume you have, whether you want it destroyed on-site or off-site, if it’s something you need done regularly or just as a one-off requirement, and if you have any other specific requirements such as destruction outside of office hours. Our sales team will be able to talk you through the best, most cost-effective option for you.

For a limited time, we are also offering free bulk shredding services for volumes over one tonne of white paper delivered to our destruction centres. This service must be pre-booked in advance through our sales team.

EN 15713 standards require all materials to be destroyed within 24 hours of arrival at destruction facilities. At Shred Station, we will destroy all material as soon as it arrives back at our depots, surpassing the requirements of the standard.

The noise is comparable to a dustbin lorry. However, our on-site vehicles can destroy around 600,000 sheets per hour, so we will be out of your way quickly.

Yes - when done properly. Shred Station has performed professional shredding services since 2008. Our refined processes and systems ensure that all of your shredding services comply with the General Data Protection Regulations as well as European shredding standard EN 15713. All of our staff are security-vetted to BS7858 standards, and your information will be destroyed compliantly.

There is no minimum volume we’ll collect, but we do have a minimum charge in place that covers you up to 10 bags or boxes of paperwork.

Yes. Please separate items like photographs, x-rays, and non-paper items for shredding. We can destroy these items, but they have to be recycled separately to avoid contamination. For non-paper items, our sales team will walk you through the process, or you can use our posters as a rough guide. You can find these by clicking on 'resources' in our menu. We also kindly request customers ensure their teams do not put batteries into shredding bins. These can cause fires and risk harming our operatives.

When preparing for your paper shredding service, you do not need to remove paper clips, staples, or plastic wallets. We do, however, ask that you keep items like photographs, x-rays, and other non-paper items separately if you need them to be shredded. Please also ensure your materials are bagged or boxed up safely, and can be accessed at ground-level or via a lift on the day of your service.

The frequency you need a service will depend on a number of factors, for example:

• How much paper you produce
• How sensitive the information you process is
• How much space you have to store confidential waste between collections.

As a very broad generalisation, most small offices have monthly collections. However, weekly services may be better for high-volume, high-sensitivity sectors such as healthcare, legal, and financial organisations. If you don't produce much paper but still want to ensure it's kept safe, an 8-weekly service might suit you best. Our experienced team can help in estimating a service frequency that offers the best value.

After shredding, we recycle 100% of shredded paper at UK paper mills. The shredded fragments can be turned into many sustainable materials such as new paper, kitchen towels, toilet tissues, and feminine hygiene products.

If you've ever used home/office shredder, the box probably includes a 'level' that the machine shreds to. These levels related to DIN 66399 levels - the German standard of shred sizes. To achieve 'level 4' shredding for paperwork, also known as P-4, the resultant fragment size would need to be ≤160mm2, with a strip width of 6mm maximum. This is probably fine for a home shredding machine, but when you're using a shredding service provider, size isn't everything.

Shredding service providers should have a comprehensive security process in place, focusing on much more than shred sizes. At Shred Station, we work in line with BS EN 15713 - the European standard. This standard does include appropriate shred sizes, but it also looks at things like staff vetting, how paper is transported, and much more. You can read more about shredding standards in the resources section of our website.

There are several 'tiers' of shredding:

Home or office shredding
The lowest security way to shred materials is to shred them with a home or office shredder.

Standard shredding services
The next (large) step up is a secure, fully accredited shredding service. A standard shredding service is suitable for most materials and uses a multi-cut method of destruction, slicing documents into small pieces.

High-security shredding
With high-security shredding services, materials are shredded to a smaller shred size on-site at your premises. High-security shred size is typically smaller than 15mm².

Granulation
Document granulation is an extremely high security service. Granulation is really only requested by organisations such as defence agencies or for highly confidential, classified government materials. Granulation destroys materials into tiny 2mm² fragments.

We process around 65,000 tonnes of confidential paperwork each year. To us, a bulk shredding job could be anything from a skip full of archive boxes to an entire warehouse full. Bulk shredding, to you, may just be an amount that is too much to destroy with a small office shredder.

Whatever quantity of documents or other confidential materials you have, we can destroy them. There is no job too big or too small. We can assist with your bulk or archive shredding quickly, cost-effectively, and compliantly.

As well as being dangerous, in-house office shredders are very expensive to maintain, and incredibly time-consuming to use. When you use a shredding service provider, you aren't just outsourcing your confidential waste destruction responsibilities. You're outsourcing the maintenance of a shredding machine, the cost of repairs, and the time it would take to remove staples, plastic folders, paperclips, and shred your documents sheet by sheet. We can shred staples etc., so minimal preparation is required your end.

There is also no chain of custody with an internal system. By using an outsourced, specialist provider such as Shred Station, you will receive a full audit trail confirming destruction in line with GDPR and BS EN 15713.

If you're still trying to justify the use of external shredding suppliers to decision makers, you might be suprised at just how good value shredding services are. Get in touch with our sales team for a no-obligation quote.

No. Once a magnetic media storage device has been degaussed, there is no way to recover any information or files saved onto the device. The device will be inoperable.

Yes, you can. We can collect everything you need to destroy. However, certain materials must be kept separately from each other. This ensures we can recycle as much as possible after shredding takes place. Our sales team will talk you through the process. We typically recommend off-site destruction for multiple materials to achieve the best value for money.

You can witness the destruction of your materials when choosing an on-site service option. Off-site services occur at our high-security destruction facilities, which are not open to the public for security and safety purposes.

We can destroy most types of hazardous or electronic waste, but would need an itemised list from you to confirm pricing. This list also enables us to see if there are materials we can't destroy, or if there's anything that needs to be separated from other items. With hazardous waste, we will provide a hazardous waste consignment note for your compliance records.

Yes. We regularly destroy seized and counterfeit goods, from weaponry to fake handbags. Whatever needs to be securely destroyed, we can help.

Industrial shredders work by rotating sets of blades working against each other, ripping paper into small pieces as it passes through the blades. A granulator works slightly differently.

Imagine your washing machine, with holes all around the drum to let water in and out. A granulator is sort of like this, but with an extremely sharp blade that rotates against the drum, scraping paperwork against the metal edges. This process does take longer than a typical shredder would, but it results in a much smaller particle size - around 2mm x 2mm. The holes in the drum work like a shredder screen, only allowing materials to pass through the holes once they are small enough. While granulators aren’t technically shredders, they are essentially the most secure “shredders” available in terms of particle size.

Granulation is typically only needed by organisations that process Top Secret or other classified government documents that pertain to national security. For almost everything else, standard shredding services are sufficient.

Yes. We can destroy laptops and PCs. With our IT equipment destruction services, there's there's no need for you to remove your hard drives or batteries yourself.

If you would like to try to remove your hard drive yourself, this YouTube video shows how you can remove a hard drive.

No. Shredding destroys your hard drives beyond recovery. Once your hard drive's platter is in lots of little pieces, it can't be put back together to retrieve information.

No. Degaussing is only a suitable data destruction option for magnetic media devices such as HDDs or floppy disks.

For non-magnetic media, including SSDs and USBs, we offer physical destruction with industrial shredding equipment.

Yes. We can destroy materials at ports across the UK.

Not to worry. Our BS7858 security-vetted operatives can meet your staff at a central loading area to collect your materials. We can provide wheeled confidential waste bins to make this step easier for your staff.

Our clients include central government, police forces, prisons, embassies, and every other type of organisation you can think of. Whatever service you require, rest assured your materials will be in the safest of hands.

A granulator is a machine that can break down materials into very small fragments.

The easiest way to imagine a granulator is to imagine the inside of your washing machine. Imagine it had thick rotating blades going around the drum, like a fan. Granulator blades are very sharp and cut materials into tiny pieces by scraping them against the edge of the drum. Similar to how your washing machine’s drum has holes to let water in and out, granulators also have a screen with holes in it. This screen stops fragments from exiting the granulator until they are small enough to get through the holes.

Degaussing is a data erasure process. Degaussers work by using a strong magnetic force to de-magnetise devices such as hard drives. Demagnetising these devices wipes all data stored on them.

It is worth noting that degaussing only works on magnetic media. This typically includes hard drives, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and magnetic cards such as certain types of ID badges or credit cards.

Degaussing will not work on non-magnetic media like solid state drives, CDs, and DVDs. For non-magnetic media, we recommend a shredding service.

Hard drive shredders break your hard drives up into many small pieces. Degaussing erases data from your hard drives using a strong magnetic field. Both are great methods of hard drive destruction, if performed by a reputable company with comprehensive accreditations.

We will recycle as much of your shredded non-paper material as possible. For example, we send metals to metal refineries, plastics to plastic recyclers, and unblended textiles to fabric recyclers. For materials we can't recycle, we use Energy from Waste. Nothing we shred will ever go to landfill.

There are many reasons companies choose to shred textiles before recycling. For example, old uniforms featuring company logos could be misused to impersonate employees if they fall into the wrong hands. Last season’s fashion garments and accessories may also need to be destroyed to protect brand identity and reduce the risk of counterfeiting. Whatever reason you need to shred your textiles before recycling, we can help.

For businesses, there are rules and regulations about mixed recycling that vary by country. In Wales, for instance, cardboard must be separated from dry mixed recycling, but under Simpler Recycling regulations in England, it’s okay to be mixed in. For large quantities of cardboard or a dedicated cardboard recycling service, we request that it be kept separately from DMR. Please check your local government’s website to see which laws apply to your business.

Improving your waste segregation can help to reduce waste disposal costs. The more recyclable materials your business diverts from general waste streams, the cheaper your waste services can become. We can share a number of resources to help your teams ensure waste is correctly segregated.

At this time, we kindly request that glass be stored separately from your DMR due to the risk that broken glass can pose to recycling operatives. We can provide a dedicated glass bin and arrange glass collections separately.

You shouldn’t place electronics in your DMR bin because most electronics are considered hazardous waste. We can, however, provide a separate bin and collection schedule for any waste electronics you produce. See our WEEE recycling service page for more information.

If you’re able to remove the tape, please do! However, removing tape is not essential when using our commercial recycling services. With a dedicated cardboard recycling service, all of your cardboard will be pulped, and any tape or staples are easily removable during this process.

Yes and no. We can collect wet cardboard; however, if it is very wet, it needs to be stored and dried out before recycling. This can create some logistical issues - particularly if sopping wet cardboard, for instance, is mixed in with dry loads. If you have wet cardboard, please let us know, and we’ll talk through the most cost-effective options with you.

We can help to improve your recycling rates by supplying resources that will help your teams to improve waste segregation. If waste is placed into the correct bins by your team, we stand a much better chance of being able to recycle it. We are also proud to be a Zero to Landfill company. Nothing we collect from you will end up in landfill sites, guaranteed.

We can help you to improve recycling at your organisation by providing employee education-themed resources to reduce contamination through better segregation. This will help you to increase your recycling rates.

Yes. We can provide a wide range of differently-sized bins to suit your business.

Yes, we can provide WEEE bins to keep your electronics secure between collections. We can provide lockable wheelie bins for confidential WEEE. For non-confidential WEEE, we can also provide cages, stillages, crates, dolavs, or even skips.

No. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals can be kept in the same containers.

However, any metal electrical components must be recorded separately to ensure compliant collection paperwork and processing. This is because electronic equipment is considered hazardous waste and requires separate processing.

To ensure we can recycle your materials, it’s essential to clean and dry items before placing them into your DMR bin. Items don’t have to be spotlessly gleaming, but they do have to be clean enough to be reusable, without any remnants of food that could grow mouldy or cause harm to health.

Yes. Although the majority of our scrap metal customers are commercial, we can also arrange domestic collections.

Yes. We can collect bulk volumes of plastic on a one-off or regular basis.

Yes. We can provide wheelie bins, crates, cages, stillages, bulk containers and even lockable RORO skips for metal waste. Let us know how much waste metal you produce, and we can recommend suitable containers to suit your needs.

We will collect your materials from you as often as you need them collected. Our service frequencies are highly flexible, and our services are tailored to suit the needs of every customer.

Absolutely. Shred Station specialises in the secure disposal of data and confidential waste. If your WEEE contains any form of personal information or sensitive business data, we can help you to ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. We are fully accredited, and all of our staff are security vetted and trained in data protection. Our vehicles and premises are also monitored by constant CCTV, and a Certificate of Destruction is provided after each service for your peace of mind and audit trail.

There are many materials that you may not know can be recycled. As well as items like cardboard and dry mixed recycling, things like paper towels and even some types of hazardous waste are recyclable. If you’re unsure, feel free to contact our team. We’re happy to answer your questions.

Some cardboard items are unsuitable for recycling. This includes heavily soiled, dirty or greasy cardboard, such as used pizza boxes or unwashed food and drinks containers. To ensure your cardboard can be recycled, please ensure it is clean when placing it in your dry mixed recycling bins or dedicated cardboard collection containers. Other types of cardboard that may not be recyclable include cardboard lined with thin layers of plastic or wax. If you’re unsure, give us a call.

We can provide a huge range of containers for cardboard waste, from small wheelie bins to large cages and RORO skips. If you already use a cardboard compactor or baler at your site, we are also happy to collect and recycle baled cardboard.

Our best-case scenario for textiles is recycling. This is likely to be possible if your textiles are single-fibre garments. Where recycling isn’t possible for your textiles, we work with a social enterprise called Mousekins who can use the shredded textiles in items like doorstops created by those in or exiting the justice system. We will only do this with your prior approval. Alternatively, we will utilise a process called rag recycling, where your textiles are turned into things like dust cloths, or Energy from Waste. We are a Zero to Landfill company, so nothing we shred on your behalf will enter landfill sites.

When your materials are collected, we’ll provide a Waste Transfer Note to demonstrate that we’ve taken full responsibility for your recycling waste. After that, materials will be separated, ready to enter dedicated recycling streams at a Material Recovery Facility (MRF). There, they will be sorted and processed for reuse in new products.

After shredding, we recycle 100% of shredded paper at UK paper mills. The shredded fragments can be turned into many sustainable materials such as new paper, kitchen towels, toilet tissues, and feminine hygiene products.

Your metals will be processed at highly specialised metal recycling facilities. This involves separating the metals into types using state-of-the-art machinery, including industrial magnets, eddy currents, X-rays, infrared scanners and even AI imaging tools.

When separated, the metals are shredded into smaller fragments. The fragments are then melted down and filtered to remove impurities. Once filtered, the liquid molten metal is set into casts to cool and harden into ingots. These ingots can then be used to make new metal products, completing the recycling process.

Plastic is granulated as part of the recycling process. Granulation is similar to shredding in many ways. With industrial machinery, plastics are ground into very small fragments. These fragments can then be melted down into new plastic pellets, ready for recycling. We have a dedicated plastic recycling facility and an industrial granulator, so don’t hesitate to get in touch for all of your plastic recycling needs.

We offer a full range of workplace recycling services, including dry mixed recycling, waste electronics and electronic equipment recycling, food waste recycling, cardboard recycling, metal recycling and more. Whatever waste services you need for your business, please feel free to get in touch.

Several types of plastic cannot be recycled, and many others aren’t easily recyclable. Some plastics that can’t be recycled include:

Bioplastics
While the name alludes to a greener plastic, bioplastics are, quite controversially, not recyclable. They cannot be re-pelletised or mixed with other forms of plastic for recycling. They are commonly advertised as compostable but, unfortunately, are not generally suitable for home composting. This is because to effectively biodegrade, bioplastics require temperatures of around 50℃ and the presence of specific microbes. This can be done at industrial composting facilities, but home compost bins never reach a high enough temperature for this to work. As a result, many companies get stuck with bioplastics, thinking they have done their bit for the planet, only to realise they now have a lot of material that will likely cost a fair amount to dispose of.

Composites
Composite plastics are made using multiple materials. This could be two or more different types of plastic. It could also be a plastic mixed with a non-plastic, such as composite decking, which is made with plastic and wood. Composites are very rarely recyclable. This is because different types of plastic require different processes to melt down, and when you add non-plastics into the mix, that becomes even harder.

Contaminated plastics
Plastics that are contaminated, e.g. used blood bags, medical gloves, and IV tubes, cannot be recycled. This is because they contain potentially hazardous substances. Hazardous waste like this must be incinerated at very high temperatures to avoid risks to health.

We can still collect these plastics, but they would likely be incinerated at Energy from Waste facilities rather than being recycled. If you aren’t sure whether or not your plastic can be recycled, contact our team of experts. We are always happy to help.

There are many items that are unsuitable for recycling in DMR bins. Some of the most common examples include Tetra Paks, paper towels, and plastic or wax-lined coffee cups and containers. We can collect these items, but they must be kept separately. We also cannot recycle items that are unclean or contaminated by oil, for instance, used pizza boxes. If unsure, give our team a call. It’s much better to have a quick, 30-second conversation than to contaminate an entire truck full of recycling.

Many types of businesses require plastic recycling. We provide services to the manufacturing sector, warehousing companies, storage and distribution companies, logistics providers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies, food production organisations, the automotive sector, furniture makers, PPE suppliers, and many other types of organisations. We also help a lot of fashion brands with plastic recycling for plastic-based textiles such as polyester. Whether you produce a few bins of plastic per month or a skip-load per day, we can help.

Unlike something like paper, mixed and blended textiles are extremely difficult to recycle. This is because textiles are made from multiple different types of fibre, and each fibre type is recycled differently. For example, pure polyesters can be melted down after shredding and made into new plastic pallets. Pure cotton can be shredded and re-spun into recycled cotton. However, with almost all types of blended textiles, recycling isn’t possible.

We want to change that at Shred Station, which is why we joined The ACT UK project. This £4m project created the blueprint for the world’s first automatic sorting plant for unwearable textiles. You can read more about the project on our textile recycling page.

Recycling e-waste can prevent hazardous substances from entering and disrupting ecosystems. For example, many electronics contain metals like mercury or lead, which could leach into the environment if dumped into landfill sites. Recycling also creates a fantastic opportunity to recover some of the valuable metals that WEEE contains. For example, smartphones can contain gold and even platinum. These metals take a huge amount of resources to mine, so by being able to recover these metals, we can reduce emissions and prolong their use.

It depends! Many types of hazardous waste are recyclable - particularly waste electrical items. If we are able to recycle your hazardous waste, we will.

If your hazardous waste isn’t recyclable, disposal methods could include chemical treatment or high-temperature incineration. None of your hazardous waste will go to landfill.

Yes. We can collect packaged food containing meat or other animal by-products.

Yes, all organisations are required to manage waste safely, without harming the environment. This includes how your commercial waste is stored (i.e. in commercial bins), transported, and disposed of.

You cannot put commercial waste into domestic bins, and you must use a registered, licensed waste carrier - like Shred Station - to handle your business waste. We provide a Waste Transfer Note with every collection, which you should retain for 2 years to demonstrate your organisation’s Duty of Care.

Yes. We will provide colour-coded clinical waste bins and sacks to help your staff effectively and safely segregate hazardous and non-hazardous clinical waste.

If you’re unsure whether your waste is hazardous, feel free to get in touch. Our team of experienced hazardous waste specialists can help you to categorise your hazardous waste, as long as you have an itemised list of the waste you need disposed of. The UK government website also provides advice on classifying different types of waste if you’re feeling up to the challenge yourself!

Anaerobic digestion breaks down organic matter without oxygen in sealed tanks. It produces digestate fertiliser and biogas, and typically breaks materials down a lot faster than composting can.

Composting works by breaking down organic matter with the help of oxygen, naturally occurring bacteria, and fungi. It produces nutrient-dense compost, but it can take a while to break materials down, and the compost heaps have to be physically turned. This can be laborious and can also be quite smelly - not ideal for the surrounding neighbours!

Anaerobic digestion is generally seen as superior to composting because the process generates fewer emissions, yields green energy, and isn’t as odorous.

Commercial waste management costs vary based on a number of factors. For instance, how often you need collections, the volume of waste you need collected, and the type of waste you need collected. Our Sales Team will provide our best quote once we know a bit more about the services you need.

Your organisation’s general waste can be collected as frequently as you’d like. Most businesses have scheduled waste collections weekly or fortnightly and use a larger or smaller bin depending on the volume of general waste produced.

How frequently your clinical waste needs collecting depends on the type of waste it is.

Infectious and offensive waste can be stored for up to 7 days if stored outside, or for up to 14 days if stored in a building. Offensive and infectious waste disposal services must be arranged to ensure these maximum storage times aren’t exceeded.

Unrefrigerated anatomical waste must be collected within 24 hours, or 72 hours if over a weekend, whereas refrigerated anatomical waste can be stored for up to 14 days.

Cytotoxic and cytostatic drugs, pharmaceuticals, dental amalgam, and other chemicals can be stored for up to 6 months.

Clinical waste should never be left to overflow from bins, and it should stay within strict legal storage limits. More information about healthcare waste storage and segregation can be found on the UK government website.

Sharps waste should be disposed of in dedicated, colour-coded sharps bins. We can provide these.

No. General waste bins should only be filled with materials that aren’t recyclable or reusable. Recyclable materials should be stored separately from general waste.

At Shred Station, we operate with a Zero to Landfill policy. We process all non-recyclable general waste at Energy from Waste facilities. There, it is incinerated under strict controls to generate energy for the National Grid.

We can facilitate the collection of most waste types, including hazardous waste. For items we cannot collect ourselves, we would utilise our network of vetted, environmentally conscious partners. This saves your team time as you can have all your waste streams managed through one partner - Shred Station. Please note that we do not use subcontractors for confidential waste.

We also have an in-house Special Projects team that can help with your urgent, unusual, or seemingly impossible requests. This includes - but is not limited to - machine movement and dismantling, machinery removals, demolition, and much more.

We can collect almost any type of commercial waste, including hazardous waste.

We will provide a Waste Transfer Note or Hazardous Waste Consignment Note after every service, depending on the materials we have collected.

Anaerobic digestion creates two byproducts.

The first is an organic fertiliser called digestate. Essentially, this is what’s left when the AD facility’s microorganisms have broken down all of the food and organic waste. Digestate is reused in the agricultural sector to fertilise crops.

The second is biogas or biomethane. This gas is captured by the AD plants and fed back into the grid as a renewable form of energy.

Biogas is a renewable gas that is produced when organic waste, such as food, breaks down in an oxygen-free environment. It is one of the key environmental benefits of having organic waste recycled at anaerobic digestion plants.

Digestate is the nutrient-rich substance left over when the microorganisms in AD plants have finished “eating” all of the organic waste in the digester. It often takes the form of a sludge or slurry and can be further separated to create a liquid fertiliser and a solid fibrous material similar to compost.

Hazardous waste is any type of waste that could pose potential threats to human health or the environment if it is incorrectly disposed of. For example, it could be toxic, corrosive, flammable, or could leave behind persistent pollutants that would be hard to remove from the environment. Hazardous waste requires specialist handling and disposal to prevent health and environmental risks.

The wheelie bins you will need will depend on how much general waste you produce and how often you want it collected.

We offer a wide range of general waste bins in varying sizes to suit your organisation’s requirements.

We can assist with any size requirement. For extremely large clearances, such as a large warehouse full of waste, we may need to spread our service over multiple days. Get in touch with our team to let us know what you need us to handle, and we will create a plan.

Many types of waste can be processed for anaerobic digestion. We accept packaged food, expired food, fruit, vegetables, bakery waste, meat, dairy, beverages, farm and agricultural waste, and also waste leftover from food processing or manufacturing (e.g. peels and pomaces). There are some foods that can’t be sent for anaerobic digestion. Let us know what you have, and we can advise.

Cytotoxic waste is waste that has been used for administering medications that cause severe damage or destruction of cells, for example, to shrink tumours.

Cytostatic waste is waste that has been used for administering medication that inhibits cell growth and reduces the opportunity for cell reproduction, for example, to prevent tumours from growing.

Both are considered hazardous clinical waste and must be disposed of through high-temperature incineration.

Infectious waste is a form of hazardous clinical waste that could pose a risk of spreading diseases or pathogens. Examples of infectious waste can include sharps, dressings used for wound care, and PPE worn whilst treating patients with infectious diseases.

Offensive waste is a type of non-hazardous medical waste that, while unpleasant, can be disposed of more cost-effectively than hazardous waste. Examples of offensive waste can include nappies, sanitary waste, and PPE used in non-hazardous settings.

After dismantling, our customers can want many different things. They may want to keep the dismantled items for parts, they may want entire structures dismantled and everything removed, or they might want something like a sectional building dismantled, transported to a new location, and reassembled. We can assist with whatever requirements you have.

Not really! To give you some idea of the diverse capabilities of our Special Projects team, we recommend having a quick look through the team’s Instagram account. There, you’ll see everything from the dismantling and transportation of huge grain silos to the disposal of rotting fruit. If you are still unsure, please get in touch. We can talk through your requirements with zero obligation and no pressure.

Yes. We can work around your schedule.

Dismantling projects can take anything from a few hours to several months, depending on the scale and complexity of what you need to be dismantled. Get in touch with our Special Projects team to discuss your requirements and we can provide an estimated timeline.

The cost to move machinery will depend on various factors, including access restrictions, the complexity of the machine, and the distance it needs to be moved. We can usually give an estimate over the phone with some photographs, or for particularly complex jobs we can arrange a free site visit to confirm an exact quote.

Every machine is different, so there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all approach to machinery movement. Once we understand your requirements, we will be able to make a safety and requirements plan detailing the equipment required to complete the job. This could be something as simple as a hooklift truck, or a full system of cranes, hoists, and jacks. We can confirm this before any work begins.

There are some restrictions around what can and cannot be demolished. For example, listed buildings and structures within conservation areas require extensive permissions before demolition is approved. For this reason, we will require proof of approval before we can begin work.

In terms of the physical demolition, we’ve never yet come across something we’ve not been able to demolish. However, if you are unsure, or if your requirements are particularly complex, our team is happy to discuss and provide a range of potential options.

We can handle all waste, including hazardous waste. However, we do require notice of any hazardous materials before the project starts. This will ensure our team and any of your staff on-site are kept safe throughout the process.

Our Special Projects team will manage the entire project as the principal contractor. If the machinery is particularly complex, we may request manufacturer and model information, but we can discuss all of this with you before the project is underway.

Shred Station operates with a strict Zero to Landfill policy. We will recycle all materials where possible, and anything that isn’t recyclable will be sent to Energy from Waste facilities in the UK.

While our business started with shredding, we now operate a fully comprehensive waste management and specialist projects business.

We got to this point by identifying a need that our confidential waste management customers had. For businesses, finding someone reputable to handle one-off projects like dismantling heavy and expensive machinery is difficult, often having to rely on word of mouth.

As a shredding business, we already employ a team of highly skilled engineers who have extensive experience in handling large, expensive, and dangerous machinery safely, professionally, and with utmost care. By expanding this team, we can now assist our customers with much more than just shredding.

We aren’t a dedicated demolition company, but our customers often tell us this is what sets us apart.

Our Special Projects team has extensive experience with not just demolition, but a diverse range of other vital skills that come hand-in-hand with things like building demolition and large-scale projects, for instance, machinery movement. This places our team in quite a unique position of being able to offer a safe and fully comprehensive service that a demolition contractor may not be able to provide. This means we can manage any project you have as the principal contractor. As well as simplifying your supply chain, this removes the usual snags you might expect as an internal Project Manager, for example, one supplier being delayed and these delays having a knock-on effect for other suppliers.

We are fully insured, and our safety-first approach and personalised solutions allow for a seamless service that suits you.

We may need to conduct a site visit depending on your specific requirements. If we need to conduct a site visit, we will let you know in advance and will visit at a time that suits you.

Our Special Projects and HSEQ teams will create a bespoke risk assessment for your project. We will provide copies of all of our insurance documents for your records.

Yes, if you want us to. Our network of reputable, reliable, and environment-focused recycling partners ensures we can recycle as much of the waste as possible, and nothing we dismantle will go to landfill. If you want to keep all or some of your dismantled machinery for spare parts, that is also fine.

Shred Station is a lifetime carbon-neutral certified company. That means every service we provide is delivered with neutralised carbon emissions. We undergo an annual assessment of our carbon emissions to earn this certification. Any emissions we haven’t yet been able to reduce, we offset through strictly verified offsetting projects in line with the requirements of The CarbonNeutral Protocol. We publish these assessments and the projects we use on our website for full transparency.

We know that offsetting alone isn’t enough. That’s why we take many steps to reduce emissions and support the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes operating with a Zero to Landfill policy and using low-emission vehicles. You can read more about our commitments to reducing emissions in the 'about' section of our website.

We offer our regular customers MI reporting. These reports detail the weight of paper waste collected and the environmental impact data showing the reduction in impact (including CO2 emissions and water saved) by recycling your paper waste with us. We can also provide more bespoke reporting, including costings as well as weight per service.

We provide these reports as Excel file via email for easy search and manipulation of the data. These are provided upon request to reports@shredstation.co.uk - or we can provide these reports weekly or monthly, if required.

No. We operate with a strict Zero to Landfill policy. 100% of shredded paper is recycled at UK mills. We also use dedicated waste streams for non-paper, recycling everything we can and only using Energy from Waste as a last resort.