Rethinking Waste: How Natural Shoots Is Giving Paper Shotgun Cartridges a New Life

Each year in the UK, over 250 million plastic-cased shotgun cartridges are used. Alongside them, a much smaller—yet still significant—number of paper-cased cartridges are fired, estimated at over 200,000 units. Whether on the clay grounds or in the field, the story tends to be the same: once fired, cartridges are simply discarded.

Most of the shooting industry’s sustainability focus today has understandably centred around replacing lead shot with steel and making certain cartridge components, like the wad, more biodegradable. Yet, when it comes to cartridges themselves, they often remain single-use items—something to be fired once and thrown away.

Fortunately, for plastic cartridges, there’s an established ecosystem. Specialist waste companies collect, sort, and reclaim plastic and metal components, giving these materials a second life in products like construction piping, seating, tables, and even new cartridges. In fact, many darker-coloured game and sporting cartridges on the market today already contain a higher proportion of recycled plastic.

However, paper cases—those made from natural tree pulp rather than petrochemicals—tell a different story. Despite having better sustainability credentials to begin with, paper-cased cartridges are largely ignored in the recycling process. Today, most end up in landfills or incinerators, their potential completely lost.

This is where Natural Shoots steps in.

Waste

A New Approach to Sustainability in Shooting

At Natural Shoots, we believe that the overlooked paper cartridge deserves a second chapter—one that’s both elegant and environmentally meaningful. Our mission is to disrupt the current waste model in three powerful ways:

1. Encouraging Private Individuals. We invite private shooters who choose paper cases to set them aside for upcycling rather than discarding them. Our collection service makes it easy to ensure your cartridges contribute to something greater.

2. Partnering with Shooting Schools, Sporting Estates, and Retailers. We are working with businesses across the shooting industry to triage and collect paper cases separately. By capturing these materials early, we open the door to meaningful reuse.

3. Championing the Use of Paper Cases. Finally, we advocate for a return to paper—a naturally more sustainable choice. In an industry facing increasing environmental scrutiny, choosing paper is a simple but significant step towards greater stewardship.

Repurposed

Turning Cartridges into Wildflower Meadows

Rather than sending paper cases to landfill, Natural Shoots remanufactures them into beautiful, premium wildflower seed kits, designed to restore native habitats and expand biodiversity across the UK.

Each upcycled cartridge directly contributes to the creation of vibrant, sustainable meadow habitats that sequester carbon—a lasting reminder that our traditions can evolve to nurture the world around us.

Be Part of the Change

The industry has made great strides in improving its environmental footprint, but a significant opportunity remains untapped. By rethinking what we buy and what happens after the shot is fired, we can all help turn waste into beauty, carbon into colour, and spent cartridges into seed holders that can contribute to a more biodiverse future.

We hope you’ll join us on this journey.

If you’d like to learn more about Natural Shoots and how you can get involved, please visit info@naturalshoots.co.uk or contact us directly.