Solidor

Solidor, part of the Masonite Group since 2018, is a leading British manufacturer of composite doors with its headquarters right in the heart of Staffordshire. For over 20 years, they have been trusted by homeowners all across the UK.

Solidor prides itself on its approach to domestic production and sustainability best practices. They have been a long-standing customer of Staffordshire’s leading waste management provider, Brown Recycling Limited since early 2013.

The strong relationship between the two Staffordshire-rooted firms has evolved over the years through a shared understanding of local business needs and requirements,various innovative projects, and by Brown Recycling’s reliable total waste management service.

Doing More with Less

In 2013, Mitch Brown, then part of the Brown Recycling Sales department and now Co- Managing Director, approached Solidor after being referred by a mutual contact who knew that the customer was looking to improve their recycling rates for their paper and cardboard waste.

At the time, Solidor faced various major challenges, including having limited space in their waste compound and five different suppliers handling five separate waste streams on site; therefore, lacking a single point of contact. Their aim was to simplify their waste management, reduce the number of suppliers, improve costs and rebates, and increase recycling rates along with an aim of Zero Waste to Landfill.

Working collaboratively with Brown Recycling, the waste compound was streamlined to create space for additional services. Over time, this gradually transitioned more of Solidor’s waste streams to Brown Recycling through a phased, low risk approach that demonstrated service excellence, innovation and recycling capability without disrupting production at their busy facility.

Improved On-Site Waste Segregation

A prime example of innovation came in 2018. Solidor’s main challenge was the high percentage of recyclable materials still being disposed of as general waste, resulting in unnecessary costs and reduced recycling rates. To address this, Brown Recycling carried out a series of “waste dives” on Solidor’s 35-yard bulky general waste hook lift loads. This useful exercise involves tipping the load, separating the contents and determining which recyclable materials are being missed.

The initial findings were that a high quality of recyclables were placed into the general waste container; items like lower-grade wood slabs, poly wrap, plastic and cardboard. As a result, Brown Recycling introduced new containers for the various waste streams,
greatly improving on-site segregation.

By implementing new waste solutions, Solidor reduced the percentage of waste sent for recycling as general mixed municipal waste from 70% to 40% of the site’s total waste produced.

Supporting Solidor’s New Facility

In 2022, Solidor opened a new facility and Brown Recycling were on hand to establish an internal waste segregation and recycling system from scratch. This included:

• Introducing internal recycling and food waste collections to manage increased
  volumes from the new staff canteens.
• Source-segregated recycling (SSR) stations to collect separated aluminium cans
  and plastic bottles by adding external drop-front 1100 bins for SSR collection,
  scheduled regularly.
• WRAP-compliant colour-coded signage to improve staff engagement and sorting
  accuracy.
• Dedicated containers and signage for wood, plastic, cardboard and general waste.

Most notably, Brown Recycling introduced “Simpler Recycling” practices for Solidor 3-years ahead of the legislation becoming a government-led legal requirement in March 2025. Brown Recycling introduced paperless collections in 2018, with paperless invoicing being implemented even earlier. This came a whole 9-years ahead of Digital Waste Tracking – a UK-wide digital service for tracking waste movements online – becoming a mandatory legislation change by October 2026. It also continues to support Solidor’s sustainability ambitions.

Future Projects

Brown Recycling continues to deliver regular advice and solutions on emerging waste streams, identifying ways in which Solidor can be more sustainable. As the partnership continues to grow, there are several projects in progress:

• Cardboard – Currently, Solidor have cardboard collections every day, which is not a cost-effective solution in the long term or environmentally friendly. Solidor is currently evaluating a compactor solution to minimise the frequency of collections and reduce overall costs.

• LDPE – After completing a site review and bin dive, Solidor’s Key Account Manager, Georgina Murfin, identified that there is LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) being wrongly placed in general waste containers. A baler solution has been proposed to reduce disposal costs and generate a rebate from the recycled material.

• Hazardous Waste – After identifying that the hazardous waste on site was not being segregated in a cost-effective manner and minimal collections were booked for small volumes, Brown Recycling supported Solidor by reorganising their hazardous waste area. This will allow the site to maximise the amount of hazardous waste collected, helping to reduce costs and carbon footprint. This is an ongoing project, and it is being monitored as it progresses to see how successful it is.

Conclusion

Solidor’s long-standing partnership with Brown Recycling has helped the business significantly improve its recycling performance, cut waste-related costs, and instil a stronger sustainability culture in its employees.