The winners of the 2026 Awards for Excellence were announced on Wednesday 13 May during a ceremony held in the Great Room at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Park Lane in London.
Following an opening address from letsrecycle.com editor Savannah Coombe, head judge Esther Carter, Chief Strategy Officer at PackUK, spoke to attendees about current developments within the sector before comedian Jimmy Carr hosted the presentation of awards across 21 categories.
'Packaging Innovation of the Year' Award
Wastepack sponsored the Packaging Innovation of the Year category, a key award celebrating organisations that are redefining sustainable packaging.
This category recognises game-changing solutions that reduce waste, improve recyclability and embed circular economy principles into packaging design and delivery.
You can find out more about our awards sponsorship here: "Awards for Excellence 2026 – Wastepack Sponsors Packaging Innovation"
The results were:
WINNER: HeTa Innovation
Highly Commended: Liverpool Football Club
Winners of the 2026 Awards are:
WASTE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE IN THE RETAIL, COMMERCIAL AND PUBLIC SECTOR
SPONSORED BY PANDA
WINNER: Bywaters & The Kia Oval
Highly Commended: Mitie & HUTH
CIRCULAR ECONOMY SUCCESS
SPONSORED BY EUROPEAN RECYCLING PLATFORM
WINNER: SRC Group
Highly Commended: WRAP
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES ASSOCIATION
WINNER: Cellcycle and Coventry University
Highly Commended: Gavin Griffith Group
COLLECTION CREW OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY NRG RIVERSIDE
WINNER: Serco Sandwell
HEALTH AND SAFETY INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY BARTEC MUNICIPAL TECHNOLOGIES
WINNER: FCC Environment
Highly Commended: SUEZ Recycling & Recovery UK
THE BEST LOCAL AUTHORITY RECYCLING INITIATIVE
SPONSORED BY PERMISERV
WINNER: Biffa & City of Lincoln Council
Highly Commended: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
CONTRIBUTION TO TACKLING NET ZERO
SPONSORED BY RE-GEN
WINNER: London Borough of Barnet
Highly Commended: McGee Group Holdings
LOCAL AUTHORITY INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY BIFFA
WINNER: Cumberland Council
Highly Commended: Lincolnshire City Council
SERVICE CHANGE AT A LOCAL AUTHORITY LEVEL
SPONSORED BY CROMWELL POLYTHENE
WINNER: North Somerset Council
REUSE INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY CONTENUR
WINNER: Community RePaint
Highly Commended: PropUp Project
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY RESOURCE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT EXPO
WINNER: Westminster City Council, in partnership with Veolia
Highly Commended: Keep Scotland Beautiful, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, New College Lanarkshire
FOOD WASTE AND ORGANICS INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY TREST
WINNER: ReLondon and Islington Council
Highly Commended: Fareshare and Hilton Foods
RESOURCE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY CLEARPOINT RECYCLING
WINNER: Scrapp x re3
Highly Commended: Re-Gen Ltd
INDEPENDENT BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY KIVERCO
WINNER: Tec Hut Ltd
Highly Commended: GAP Group North East
AI OR TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY CBAI
WINNER: Greyparrot
Highly Commended: Panda
ENERGY FROM WASTE INNOVATION/ACHIVEMENT OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY ENERGY, FUELS AND DECARBONISATION EXPO
WINNER: Powerhouse Energy Group PLC
Highly Commended: Go4Greener Waste Management
EXCELLENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
SPONSORED BY LIEBHERR
WINNER: Ocado Retail
SOCIAL VALUE WITHIN A COMMUNITY
SPONSORED BY SERCO
WINNER: Thirteen Group
Highly Commended: Cheshire West Recycling
BEST NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY VERMEER UK
WINNER: Isla Sutton – Veolia
