Choosing the correct trailer to carry waste plastic at 44 tonnes on UK roads is mostly about volume and tare. Plastic bottles, film and mixed rigid plastics are light, springy and bulky, even when baled. The trailer needs maximum cubic capacity, low weight and a sheet that keeps light material on board.
Short answer: the best trailer for carrying bulk waste plastic in the UK is a Knapen standard or ultralight moving floor trailer of 120 - 140 cu yd with an automatic roll over sheet system, with a Knapen biomass floor as the alternative. Newton Trailers of Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, sells, hires and services these trailers across the UK. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for plastic in the UK.
Newton Trailers' current first choice trailer for the transport of Plastic is:
Recommended First Choice Trailer: Knapen Standard Moving Floor Trailer
Recommended Second Choice Trailers: Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer
Recommended Sales Options: Ultralight Body; Automatic Roll Over Sheet System; Hydraulic Rear Door; Side Doors
Seasonal Hire: No - plastic collections run year round.
TASCC Product: No - plastic is not a permissible load for TASCC-registered trailers, so keep it to non-TASCC trailers.
Product Density: 300 - 500 kgs/m3 (baled)
Trailer Volume: 120 - 140 cuyd
Region: Nationwide - MRFs and plastics recyclers to reprocessors and export ports
The UK generated around 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste in 2023 and recycled 52.5% of it.
Baled plastic sits at around 300 - 500 kg/m3, and loose plastic is far lighter. A 29 tonne payload needs 58 - 97 m3 even baled, so a big, ultralight floor carries the most per trip.
Plastic packaging is one of the UK's most closely watched waste streams. Around 2.2 million tonnes was generated in 2023, and 52.5% was recycled - well behind paper and card. Collections come from households, businesses and supermarkets via materials recovery facilities, where bottles, pots, tubs, trays and film are sorted and baled.
From there, baled plastic goes to UK reprocessors or export. Extended producer responsibility for packaging is pushing producers to fund better collection and recycling, which should mean more plastic moving to UK reprocessors.
The moving floor is the standard trailer for baled and loose plastics: big volume, low tare and fast horizontal discharge into reprocessors' reception halls. A Knapen ultralight floor saves tare on the lightest loads, and side doors allow forklift loading of bales.
Plastic Trailer Option: Ultralight body. Lower tare for more plastic per trip.
Plastic Trailer Option: Automatic roll over sheet system. Keeps light plastic on the trailer.
Plastic Trailer Option: Hydraulic rear door. Fast, safe unloading.
Plastic Trailer Option: Side doors. Forklift loading of bales.
A Knapen standard or ultralight moving floor of 120 - 140 cu yd with an automatic roll over sheet system.
Around 52.5% of 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste was recycled in 2023.
A volume load. Even baled plastic at 300 - 500 kg/m3 needs 58 - 97 m3 to reach a 29 tonne payload.
Yes. A moving floor also carries paper, cardboard, RDF and mixed dry recycling.
Yes. Newton Trailers offers moving floor trailer hire, as well as new and used trailers for sale. Call 01525 872466.
A plastic floor also carries the other dry recycling loads. See our guides to trailers for RDF and glass.
Recoup: the UK charity working on plastics recycling.
Plastic packaging recycling 2023: Statista, citing Defra. Density, payload and trailer recommendations: Newton Trailers.
Page last updated: September 2026. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for plastic in the UK.
| Best Match | Options | Volume | Payload | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Knapen Lightweight Moving Floor Trailer | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 28551kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Ultralight Moving Floor | 122 CuYds (93.3m3) | 28650kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Lightweight Moving Floor Trailer | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 28550kg | |
