Frequently Asked Questions
Circularity Direct design, build and operate bespoke recycling solutions to help organisations realise a more sustainable plastics strategy.
We are the exclusive operators of the National Hard Hat Recycling Scheme, which has been running since 2017. Collecting and recycling hard hats is our core activity. It’s what we do!
If you have end-of-life hard hats that you want to dispose of in an environmentally responsible way, you’ve come to the right place. We can help.
How does it work?
Simply use the online ordering system on our website ( www.circularity.direct ).
Here we’ll ask you to enter a few details, then pay the recycling fee (£2.50 +VAT per hat) and a the shipping fee. Once you have done this you will automatically receive an order confirmation email, together with a payment receipt and VAT invoice.
Put your hats into a box for shipping (any cardboard box will do) but don’t tape it shut just yet.
You will also receive, by email, an important document from us that needs to go inside the box. This document has a unique barcode that allows us to link the box and hats back to you. Please print this document out and place inside the box. Once done, you can now tape the box shut.
You will also receive instructions from us on how to book collection.
Do you service the whole of the UK?
Hats will be collected from you by our logistics partner Royal Mail, who can collect from anywhere in the UK.
Once collected, hats are delivered into our recycling centre in the Peterborough area. Here the hats will be destroyed and the plastics recycled.
Can you collect any number of hats?
Yes, we can collect any number of hats…..from a single hat to many thousands.
What happens to the hats?
When the hats arrive at our recycling centre, the box is opened and the contents are checked and approved. The unique barcode (on the document we sent you to put inside the box) is scanned, and a Waste Transfer Note is automatically generated and emailed to you right away.
The hats are then manually disassembled into their constituent parts, with the plastics sorted by polymer type and by colour.
Next, the plastic pieces of the hats are granulated into 10mm fragments, before being put through an extrusion, melt-filtration, and pelletization process. In this way the plastics are all turned back into new, clean polymer pellets. These pellets are the universal raw-material format for all plastic item manufacturing.
At the moment the polymer does not go back in to the manufacture of new hats, it goes into other UK manufacturing applications. However we are already working with some of our hat manufacturing partners, and hope that during 2026 we will be able to go fully circular and start sending this material back in new hat manufacture. Watch this space!
Do I get a receipt for my payment?
Yes. Absolutely.
As soon as your order is confirmed and paid, you will automatically receive a payment receipt by email. Therefore it is really important that you enter your email address correctly during the order process. This email address will also be where we send you an important document to place inside the box, an address label to affix to the box, the Waste Transfer Note, and the certificate of destruction.
Do I get a confirmation that the hats have been recycled?
Yes. Absolutely.
When your hats arrive at our recycling centre, the box will be scanned and the contents checked.
The hats will then enter the recycling process. At this point a Waste Transfer Note and a certificate of destruction will be automatically generated and emailed to you.
Can I speak with someone?
Yes, absolutely.
We are genuinely really keen to hear from our customers.
If you have any questions, or want to share some feedback, or just want to understand more about plastics recycling, then please feel free to either call 0330 133 9170, or email us: at info@circularity.direct
What if I have a large number of hats?
Sometimes we have customers who want to send us thousands of hats in one go….for example if going through a project closure or a company re-branding.
That’s no problem. But please do call us first, as we’ll need to arrange a bulk collection for you.
Is it possible to have a central account for our organisation?
In some cases, customers may want to have a single, central account that multiple users (or sites) across their organisation can access. We serve thousands of sites across the UK under centralised customer accounts. So this is something we can definitely offer. Please call us to discuss: 0330 133 9170