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Recorra comparison

Recorra comparison: Capital Recycle vs Recorra for commercial waste in London

Recorra comparison: Capital Recycle vs Recorra on what a business asks before it signs: where they collect, what containers they supply, how the charges are structured, how fast they start, what the published terms say, and who issues the paperwork. Every statement about Recorra is taken from its own published pages and dated. We are the other company on this page, so weigh what we say accordingly.
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Who this comparison is for

A business in London with one site, or a handful, that puts out pre-paid sacks or runs one to four wheelie bins. If you run an office with a recycling programme that needs segregated streams and detailed reporting, Recorra is built for that and this page says so.

The two companies

Recorra began in 1988 as a Friends of the Earth project and is an independent company, Recorra Ltd, registered at Lant Street, SE1. It states 6,300 customers serviced in the last 12 months and publishes a London coverage list of fifteen boroughs. It lists ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001, SafeContractor, FORS Bronze and Cyber Essentials Plus, and describes its service as "Free in-depth reporting", "35+ recycling services" and "Keeping 98% of your recycling within the UK", with a "99% collection success rate". Its own pages: recorra.co.uk (nofollow).
Capital Recycle Ltd is a London commercial waste collector with 250+ active customers, rated ★4.8 on Trustpilot. We collect sacks and bins across central London and the WD postcodes on our caged tippers, start within 24 to 48 hours from sack stock we hold ourselves, and issue the annual Waste Transfer Note for every stream we collect. Upper Tier waste carrier CBDU466346. £5m public liability.

Recorra features and services, side by side

Capital RecycleRecorra (as published, read 2 Nov 2026)
London coverageCentral London and the WD postcodes; collection frequency agreed per siteBromley, Camden, City of London, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster; sack collections on a schedule within council time bands
SacksPre-paid general waste and mixed recycling sacks, priced per sack by weekly volume; delivered from stock we holdPre-paid rolls, collection and disposal included; kerbside collection within council time bands
Bins240, 360, 660 and 1100 litre; one fixed monthly figure per bin, no rental line, no environmental levy, no fuel surcharge120, 240, 660 and 1100 litre; food 120 and 240 litre; glass in crates, 240 and 660 litre bins or pre-paid sacks; invoiced monthly
Other streamsGlass as a dedicated stream; food as a bagged stream; cardboard by arrangement; specialist streams through one of our partnersCardboard as flattened bundles with pre-paid stickers, bins or bales; 35+ recycling services
How pricing is structuredSacks per sack by volume; bins one monthly figure per bin; the agreement shows every line before you signSacks pre-paid by the roll; bins invoiced monthly; its general terms provide for a fuel surcharge above a stated diesel price and for price changes on 30 days' notice
How to startPhone or form; service starts within 24 to 48 hours; sacks from our own stock, bins on the agreed start dateOnline quote, order sacks, delivery to the workplace, schedule agreed; lead time not published
Term and notice12-month agreement that renews unless you give 60 days' notice before the renewal date, or a rolling monthly option at a higher rate that you can end any month. The agreement is sent before you commitIts general terms (dated November 2022): initial term 12 months, renewing for successive 12-month periods unless written notice is given at least 90 days before expiry; individual agreements may override
Waste Transfer NoteAnnual WTN Service, £65 + VAT per stream, issued and renewed by usDocumentation described as included with the sack service
Published service figures98% of what we collect is diverted from landfill"99% collection success rate"; "Keeping 98% of your recycling within the UK"
CertificationsUpper Tier carrier CBDU466346; £5m public liabilityISO 9001, 14001, 45001; SafeContractor; FORS Bronze; Cyber Essentials Plus
Missed collectionCall 0207 101 4003 and speak to the person who runs the roundHelpdesk on 020 7407 9100 or by email; recovery time not published
Changing a bin or a frequencyLike-for-like bin swap on 24 hours' notice, no crossover periodThrough the helpdesk, per its pages
Public reviewsTrustpilot ★4.8Trustpilot, linked in the sources

Choose Recorra if

  • You run an office recycling programme that needs many segregated streams and free, detailed reporting for an ESG or B Corp submission.
  • Where your recycling is processed matters to you; Recorra publishes a UK-processing figure.
  • You need a workplace supplies and recycling service from one company.
  • Your procurement asks for FORS or Cyber Essentials Plus by name.

Choose Capital Recycle if

If you want a collection that turns up on the day it is booked, and a team you can reach when something needs sorting, choose Capital Recycle.
  • You have one London site, or a few, with sacks or one to four bins and no reporting programme to feed.
  • You want a missed or late collection sorted by a person who can act: a call to 0207 101 4003 reaches the person who runs your round, not a ticket queue or a call centre that cannot contact the driver.
  • You want to start this week, with the containers actually on site: sacks from our own stock within 24 to 48 hours, bins delivered on the agreed start date, and a damaged bin swapped like for like on 24 hours' notice.
  • You want to pay for the collections that were made: sacks are pre-paid per bag, bins are one fixed monthly figure, and a missed lift is rebooked by the person who runs the round.
  • You want 60 days' notice, not 90, before a renewal, and a rolling monthly option if you want no term at all.
  • You want us to issue and renew the Waste Transfer Note, so the paperwork a landlord or auditor asks for is already there.

How switching works

  1. Check the notice window on your current agreement first. The window, not the new supplier, decides when you can move.
  2. Tell us your postcode, the containers you use and your weekly volume. We confirm a start date within 24 to 48 hours.
  3. We deliver sacks or bins on the agreed date. If you are moving from bins, the new bins go in as the old ones go out; there is no period with two sets on site.
  4. We issue the Waste Transfer Note for each stream at the start, then renew it annually.
The full checklist is in our guide: How to switch commercial waste provider.

Common questions

What are Recorra's notice terms?

Its published general terms (dated November 2022, read 3 November 2026) set a 12-month initial term renewing for 12-month periods unless written notice is given at least 90 days before expiry. Your own agreement may differ; read it.

Sacks or bins?

Sacks suit a site with no storage and a small daily volume. Bins suit a site with a bin store and steady volume. Our guide on bags or bins for commercial waste covers the trade-offs.

Do you offer waste reporting?

We issue the Waste Transfer Note per stream. We do not run a reporting portal; if you need stream-by-stream reporting, Recorra does.

Do you cover my postcode?

Central London and the WD postcodes. Call 0207 101 4003 with your postcode and we will tell you straight away.

How long is your agreement?

12 months as standard, renewing unless you give 60 days' notice before the renewal date, or rolling monthly at a higher rate. You see the agreement before you sign.

Who do I call if a collection is missed?

0207 101 4003. You speak to the person who runs the round.

Who published this

Capital Recycle Ltd wrote this page. We compete with Recorra for sack and bin customers in London, so read it as one competitor writing about another. We are an agile, independent London collector with our own caged tippers and our own sack stock. Everything we say about Recorra comes from its own published pages, listed below with the date we read them, and we have not quoted any Recorra price. Our carrier registration CBDU466346 is on the public register, so check us as well.
Facts checked 2 November 2026.

Sources