The Laundry has one simple aim: to prove that a kerbside collection recycling scheme for small businesses can offer a good service to customers and be economically viable.

In 1999 BioRegional Development Group set up a free advice service ‘Local Paper for London’, to encourage businesses to try ‘closed loop’ recycling by sending their paper for recycling to a local mill and buying back locally produced recycled paper. It discovered many small businesses did not have the space to store large amounts of paper for recycling, and the cost was often prohibitive. So, in June 2003, the Laundry was launched, to provide a cost effective solution to small businesses’ recycling needs. The name was chosen to evoke the idea of washing the paper clean – Laundry customers can also buy back EVOLVE 100% recycled paper at a reduced rate – completing the use and reuse cycle. Having started out in Soho, the scheme now covers most of central London. As well as paper and cardboard, the Laundry now also collects I.T. equipment (in partnership with Maxitech), drinks cans (in partnership with Novelis) and Christmas trees too!

The key to the scheme’s success is taking a business savvy approach. Although businesses consider the impact of their actions on the environment to be important, an overwhelming majority put their costs first. The Laundry focuses on how recycling paper helps save money, as well as the environment. The scheme aims to mimic existing waste collection systems, making it easy for businesses as it requires very little change in behaviour.

Another possible reason why the Laundry is doing so well is their light-hearted and humorous attitude – after all, who needs a lecture on recycling when you’ve got a business to run?