What to do with your Woolcool.
Best ideas come naturally.
At Woolcool®, we believe in maximizing the lifecycle of our products, to do what’s best for the planet. Our impact is our responsibility. This page outlines our best recommendations for recycling the packaging, to get the most life out of a wonderful material.
Wool is a remarkable, renewable material with endless benefits, from its natural insulation properties to its ability to biodegrade and be reused.
We believe in giving our wool liners a second life—first by reusing them, then by recycling them when that’s no longer possible. Reuse comes first because it’s the simplest, most sustainable option, helping to reduce waste without added processing or emissions. Finally, we offer a returns scheme for those who are unable reuse or recycle, ensuring that every option is available to avoid single-use waste!
Reusing your Woolcool®.
Why is reuse best for the planet?
Reuse is the most sustainable way to recycle Woolcool®. It requires no complex processes, produces minimal emissions, and extends the life of this renewable, eco-friendly material. By reusing wool liners at home or in the garden, you can give them a second life without adding to their carbon footprint. Check out the ideas below for inspiration!
Around the home and garden.
Woolcool’s soft, natural wool is perfect for creative and practical reuses. It’s great for filling cushions, reupholstering chairs, or crafting unique home décor. Nature, wildlife and pets love it too—whether it’s lining hanging baskets, creating a bug hotel or stuffing a dog bed, it gets top marks all round.
Practical ideas.
Wool’s flexibility makes it perfect for all sorts of creative uses. Woolcool fans have lined backpacks to protect laptops, rolled liners into draft excluders, and wrapped them around pipes for insulation. You can even cut them into cozy insoles for wellies or boots!
Getting creative.
Woolcool’s natural feel inspires endless creativity. Some customers have crafted cuddly needle-felted toys, sewn warm and snuggly clothing using wool liners, and even created stage props, festive Christmas decorations, and stunning art installations. With a little imagination, the possibilities are truly limitless!
If you can’t find a way to reuse your liners, maybe someone else can! Why not try donating to your local shelter, or even making a few extra pennies by selling them on marketplace platforms to others!
Join our online community for more inspiration, or to share your creative reuses, using #LetsBoxClever
Recycling Woolcool.
Selected with purpose.
Each of the materials we use have been selected with purpose.
We believe in the right material for the right application, fully researched from beginning to end of life to provide optimal solutions, with considered decisions on reduction of impact across the whole supply chain.
Simple to Recycle.
All of our materials are pure and simple materials.
We do not use complex additives or laminate materials which negate and/or impact sustainable credentials and claims.
This means that if you can’t find a way to reuse your Woolcool®, then it can be easily disposed of through widely accessible recycling chains.
The table below can be used as a simple guide to recycle your Woolcool® packaging.
This advice is based on UK Mainland recycling processes. For more in depth instructions, video explainers, or information for other locations, head to our Global Recycling Page.
MATERIAL | SPEC | REUSABLE | COMPOSTABLE | RECYCLABLE | ACTIONS |
| Wool | Certified compostable 100% sheep’s wool | Yes | Yes | Yes | Can be reused within the plastic sleeve, or rip the wool out of the plastic film and break apart to compost or recycle within garden waste. |
| Plastic | Grade 4 MDPE/LDPE | – | – | Yes | Widely recycled in the same way as carrier bags, either within household recycling (if accepted) or at a carrier bag recycling point. Please check with your local council for the correct way to recycle this in your area. |
| Paper/Cardboard | FSC-certified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Recycle within normal household recycling or composting. |
Rules regarding recycling can vary by location and are constantly evolving, so we would always recommend checking with your local authority if you are not sure which materials they accept, or where best to place them.
We are currently working to better understand even more of the chains outside of the UK to offer the best recycling advice.
What about ice and gel packs?
Not all companies use our ice packs, and materials for these differ. Please check with the company who delivered your packaging for the best way to recycle the ice or gel packs.
Returning your Woolcool to us.
Our sector-first circular economy scheme allows ecologically-minded customers to return their real wool insulated liners to us for reuse. For free.
To use this service you must meet the following criteria. If you fit all three, then click the return via DPD button below.
Unable to reuse or recycle your Woolcool liners.
The scheme is designed for customers who are unable to reuse or recycle Woolcool, whether due to limited recycling options, accessibility challenges, or receiving large quantities of Woolcool via subscription deliveries. We offer this so that everyone has a way to avoid making our packaging single-use.
Returning 5 or more Woolcool liners.
Our recently completed carbon footprint analysis found that this scheme works best when returning a minimum of 5 liners at a time.
Based in mainland UK.
At the moment this scheme is only available in the UK Mainland, but watch this space!
Woolcool® is paying the costs of enabling this ground-breaking scheme, because it perfectly sums up our ecological ethos and determination to find packaging solutions that are not only good for customers, products and consumers, but they also help protect the earth.
For smaller amounts of packaging, recycling or reusing is a better option, as the carbon footprint of sending individual parcels back isn’t the best choice for the planet. We encourage you to choose reuse, donation or recycling whenever possible to reduce emissions and make the biggest positive impact!
For more information on our circular economy scheme, or more details instructions on how to return your Woolcool, head to our Circular Economy page.
Nature at its best.
We have invested millions of pounds over the last decade in research and testing to collect scientific data to back up our innovations, that same spirit of creativity is what drives us on.
At the core of all those ideas is our belief that natural materials are best, and that we must find a way to address the real and urgent global packaging issue that faces society – the need to develop packaging that is environmentally and socially responsible yet economically viable.
When it comes to temperature-controlled packaging, wool is the natural answer to a global problem, better than polystyrene and manmade options. That’s OUR big idea!
Want to find out more about our chilled packaging solution?
Please call us on
+44 (0) 1785 262030
Ask our experts
Our packaging team have years of experience in temperature controlled thermal logistics and will quickly answer your questions.
Once we receive your message we'll review and evaluate the best approach. If we need more information we'll call you to discuss.
Units 1A & 1B, Tungsten Park, Opal Way, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire. ST15 0SS
