Choosing the correct trailer for a Mixed Recycling Facility (MRF) at 44 tonnes on UK roads is about volume and turnaround. MRFs take in mixed dry recycling - paper, card, cans, plastics and glass - and send out sorted bales and residues. Inbound loose recycling is light and bulky; outbound bales and residues are denser. The trailer has to handle both, fast.
Short answer: the best trailer for MRF work in the UK is a Knapen biomass moving floor for loose mixed recycling, with Knapen recycling and side door floors for bales and residues. Newton Trailers of Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, sells, hires and services these trailers across the UK. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for MRF recycling in the UK.
Newton Trailers' current first choice trailer for the transport of MRF Recycling is:
Recommended First Choice Trailer: Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer
Recommended Second Choice Trailers: Knapen Recycling Moving Floor; Knapen Moving Floor with Side Doors
Recommended Sales Options: Automatic Roll Over Sheet; Side Doors; Hydraulic Rear Door; Heavy Duty Floor Planks
Seasonal Hire: Partly - recycling peaks after Christmas and in summer.
TASCC Product: No - MRF recycling is not a permissible load for TASCC-registered trailers, so keep it to non-TASCC trailers.
Product Density: 300 - 600 kgs/m3
Trailer Volume: 120 - 140 cuyd
Region: Nationwide - transfer stations to MRFs, and MRFs to reprocessors, energy-from-waste plants and ports
English local authorities sent 9.6 million tonnes of household waste for recycling in 2024, including 5.5 million tonnes of dry recycling.
Loose mixed recycling is a volume load - a 140 cu yd floor fills before 29 tonnes. Baled outputs and residues are denser, so a weigher helps on the return run.
Most dry recycling in the UK passes through a MRF. In 2024 English local authorities sent 9.6 million tonnes of household waste for recycling, including 5.5 million tonnes of dry materials. Collections are bulked at transfer stations, hauled to the MRF, sorted, baled and sent on to paper mills, metal and plastic reprocessors and glass processors, with the residue going to energy from waste.
Extended producer responsibility for packaging and simpler recycling collections in England are pushing more material through MRFs - more tonnes in and out.
The moving floor is the standard MRF trailer: maximum volume for loose recycling inbound, fast horizontal discharge into tipping halls, and side doors for loading bales outbound. A Knapen recycling floor adds strength for glass-heavy or residue loads.
MRF Recycling Trailer Option: Automatic roll over sheet. Keeps light recycling on the trailer.
MRF Recycling Trailer Option: Side doors. Forklift loading of bales.
MRF Recycling Trailer Option: Hydraulic rear door. Fast unloading in MRF tipping halls.
MRF Recycling Trailer Option: Heavy duty floor planks. Resist wear from glass and grit in mixed recycling.
A Knapen biomass moving floor for loose mixed recycling, with recycling and side door floors for bales and residues.
English local authorities sent 9.6 million tonnes of household waste for recycling in 2024, including 5.5 million tonnes of dry recycling.
Loose recycling is a volume load; bales and residues are denser.
Yes. Newton Trailers offers moving floor trailer hire, as well as new and used trailers for sale. Call 01525 872466.
England local authority and household waste 2024/25: Defra. Density, payload and trailer recommendations: Newton Trailers.
Page last updated: September 2026. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for MRF recycling in the UK.
| Best Match | Options | Volume | Payload | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Knapen Recycling Moving Floor Trailer | Keith Cleensweep Moving Tarp System | 127 CuYds (97.1m3) | 27010kg |
| Used | 2021 Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | Keith Cleensweep Moving Tarp System | 140 CuYds (107.0m3) | 27900kg |
| Also See | New Knapen Recycling Moving Floor Trailer | Keith Cleensweep Moving Tarp System | 127 CuYds (97.1m3) | 27010kg |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | Keith Cleensweep Moving Tarp System | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 27930kg |
| Also See | 2015 Kraker Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 27900kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | Keith Cleensweep Moving Tarp System | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 27850kg |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | Keith Cleensweep Moving Tarp System | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 27850kg |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | Keith Cleensweep Moving Tarp System | 140 CuYds (107.0m3) | 27770kg |
