For more than 20 years, Multipanel UK has delivered a Multitude of Applications from our range of aluminium composite panels — growth that has expanded our production capability and product range into new markets and industries around the world.
As we have grown, so has our responsibility as a manufacturer to make our business more sustainable — from the larger elements like raw material sourcing, manufacturing processes and logistics, to smaller areas such as how we send out samples and how we power our facilities, including motion-activated lighting so power is used only when needed.
We hold our suppliers to the same standard through our supplier code of conduct, because the collective footprint of our supply chain matters as much as our own.
As a manufacturer, our aim is straightforward: as we make each part of our business more sustainable, every panel that comes off our line — regardless of finish — should have a smaller environmental footprint than the one before it.
2025 was a significant year for this work. Following an overhaul of our production workflows and the installation of new material recovery systems, we reduced the amount of manufacturing waste sent to landfill by 64%, down to 36% of 2024 levels. As production volumes increased, so did the total material passing through our recovery processes for aluminium, core material, plastics and wood — but 99% of this was recycled rather than sent to landfill.
Click on the links below to learn more:
Recycled content in our products
All Alupanel® PE cores use 100% recycled LDPE. Our recycled LDPE is sourced through supplier partnerships within the EU, supporting a consistent, high-quality supply.
Wood used for pallets is FSC certified. Plastic pallet covers contain 30% recycled content and are recyclable. Cardboard packaging is 87% recycled.
Our protective films do not currently contain recycled content. We are testing alternative films with varying levels of recycled content, and will update this claim once a validated option is in production use.
Carbon footprint from production
All of our products are manufactured in the UK, using materials sourced from Europe and around the world.
Using recycled LDPE in place of virgin material reduces the energy and emissions associated with our core material — we are working towards quantifying this reduction and will publish figures once available.
We are investing in LED and motion-activated lighting across our warehouses and production areas, and are assessing solar and other renewable options for the future.
We have increased our loading bay capacity to reduce dwell time for trucks loading materials for UK and EU distribution.
Product life cycle
Our Alupanel range is built for both indoor and outdoor use, with corrosion-resistant aluminium cover sheets and strong weather resistance, giving the panels a long service life across a wide range of installation environments.
Recyclability
Alupanel panels are fully recyclable — both the aluminium cover sheets and the core material can be recovered and used to produce new materials. According to industry-wide figures, recycling aluminium requires significantly less energy and generates substantially fewer emissions and less water pollution than producing primary aluminium. Different methods can be used to separate the material components from the composite.
We have begun a trial phase of our Closed Loop Recycling Programme in the UK, collecting used panels to separate and recycle the aluminium at a local furnace, while the LDPE core is returned to Multipanel UK for use in future panels.
Closed Loop Recycling Program
As a globlal supplier of ACP, we see that many panels used by our end users ultimately go to landfill at the end of their service life, due to a lack of accessible recycling routes. To address this — and to reduce the carbon footprint across the full lifecycle of our panels, not just our own production — we launched a Closed Loop Recycling Programme in the UK, beginning in 2024 with a small number of early-adopter Alupanel distributors and end users.
Under the scheme, used panels are collected after their working life, with the aluminium smelted at a local furnace for future use and the LDPE core recycled and returned to Multipanel UK for use in new panels.
In 2025, the programme doubled the volume of post-consumer ACP diverted from landfill, recycling 160 tonnes — separate from the material recovered from our own manufacturing waste, covered above.
In 2026 and 2027, we plan to extend the scheme to more distributors and end users across the UK, and are exploring the potential to extend the programme to our partners in other markets.
The Loop
This programme is designed to keep ACP material out of landfill after use, by providing an accessible recycling route for sign makers, fabricators and printers.
Alupanel® PE core products are produced using 100% recycled LDPE. Once panels are collected through the Closed Loop Recycling Programme, the LDPE core is separated from the aluminium, processed, cleaned and converted into pellets, which are returned to Multipanel UK. A percentage of these pellets is added back into new productions — so effectively your old panels contribute to your future panels. Aluminium recycling operates at a much larger industry scale: all separated aluminium is recycled at a local smelter into ingots for reuse.
Stakeholders
Multipanel UK is working together with distributors, end users and project organisers to provide this solution. Material can be collected at branches, in end user yards, or from a job site, and we can provide stillages for filling, with material separated as follows:
- Full sheets, palletised.
- Cut-out sheets or skeletons, palletised.
- Small and large offcuts, in stillages.
As the programme grows, we are developing collection routes across the country to allow for regular collections and stillage exchange.
Process
For more information or to arrange a collection, please contact us via the email below with a description and images of the material to prepare a collection quote.