FAQs for schools & businesses

How do I calculate the weight of the cartons we produce?

There are a number of ways to do this. You may know how many cartons you use. In which case, you can multiply that by the average weight of a carton. An average dry weight for a carton is 20g. Please note, this is an average carton weight taken across all pack sizes. Just a couple of teaspoons of liquid in a carton can weigh as much as the package itself. Contractors may also reject carton material that contains too much liquid.

You may know the total weight/volume of the waste you dispose of and if you don’t know, it is easy to find out. A simple waste audit will tell you the percentage of that material that is made up of cartons. This can be a fun activity for a class to do. A 1,100 litre bin can hold approximately 80-100kg of washed and squashed cartons.

I’ve got my quotes. What next?

If you’ve got more than one quote, pick a contractor. Then use the information in the quote to set up a collection. Once you have set up your collection, the contractor will provide you with everything you need including, appropriate containers and information about the scheme.

What size container will I have?

Your contractor will be able to provide you with advice on the most appropriate container for your material and the frequency you need. The containers available vary from contractor to contractor, but most contractors do a range of containers suitable for collections, from as small as one bag, to as large as commercial compactors.

What things can I put in my collection?

This varies from contractor to contractor, as some contractors will collect cartons with other materials. Please check with your contractor or consult the details of your scheme.

All types of paper-based liquid food and drinks cartons can be recycled using the scheme. Please wash and squash before recycling your cartons.

Please do not put anything other than the items listed by your contactor into your recycling bin, as it will contaminate the whole load.

*Please do not put plastic bags, cans, cardboard, food or plastic bottles in the collection unless your contractor has told you that they can take them in the same recycling container.

Do I have to remove the plastic cap or straw from my carton before recycling?

No. The caps and straws can be left on. They will be removed during the recycling process.

Do I need to wash and squash my cartons?

We advise that you wash/rinse your cartons to reduce any potential problems with odour or pests. You also need to squash your cartons, otherwise you will be paying to dispose of air or liquid and you won’t be using your bin to its full capacity. Remember that just a couple of teaspoons of liquid in a carton can weigh as much as the package itself. If you leave liquid in the container it can contaminate the material for recycling. This might result in the contractor rejecting the load and you incurring additional costs.

I have a question about, or a problem with, my service. Who should I contact?

Click on the page for your contractor and contact them using the contact details listed.
J&B Recycling
Recresco Ltd
Shanks Waste Management Ltd

Is this ACE UK's service?

No, the service is not provided by us, but by the contractors we use for household collections. We have worked with them to facilitate this service.

All quotations offered by the contractors and accepted by any commercial business and services supplied thereafter, will constitute an agreement between those parties. ACE UK will not be party to, or deemed to be involved in any way with such agreements between the two parties.

Why do I have to pay for my collection? Can't I just put them in my local bank?

Schools waste is not treated the same way as the waste from your home. The government calls it 'household waste for which a charge for collection may be made'. This is why schools normally have to pay for their waste and recycling to be collected and also why your council is responsible for collecting your waste. You cannot put school's waste into our Local Authority bring banks because they are only for 'non-charged-for household waste', like the waste from your home.

We are partly subsidising this schools collection service, but unfortunately we cannot provide you with a cost neutral service. With 32,000 schools and colleges in the UK, we are not able to fully subsidise carton recycling in schools. We have focused all of our investment in the infrastructure as the best route to making carton recycling widely available.

What if my council wants to set up/subsidise a county-wide/district-wide scheme?

We will happily talk to any District or County and help them to work with the local contractor to either set up or subsidise a county-wide or district-wide scheme. Please note: we cannot contact a council on behalf of a school asking for a subsidised collection and we cannot provide any further level of subsidy. Councils can contact us for more information.

Does ACE UK make any money from this scheme?

No. The member companies work together and are actually subsidising the processing of cartons for recycling from schools.

What is Phase One?

Phase One was the first part of setting up the Schools Carton Recycling Service. It involved negotiating with our contractors, developing the service and this website. It is now complete and we will begin working on Phase Two.

What is Phase Two?

We recognise that there can sometimes be problems with setting up new recycling schemes in schools. So Phase Two is the second part of our Schools Carton Recycling Service project and is about helping schools find the easiest way to set up a carton recycling scheme within the school grounds.

Obviously we haven’t got the resources to help every single one of the 32,000 schools and colleges in the UK to set up their scheme. So instead, we will be working up a comprehensive solution that investigates and addresses many of the main barriers faced when recycling cartons in the majority of schools (time, logistics etc).

We expect that the outcome may be the result of a number of trials and that it will be in the form of a simple ‘how to’ document. We will try to take into account most of the different ways of dealing with recycling in different schools.

Please remember that Phase Two involves undertaking a significant amount of work and it will take us, at the minimum, several months to complete.

Click here to find out how to get information about Phase Two when it is ready.

Please note: Phase Two will not be a cost neutral solution.