MD-175
The Retail Taxonomy
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Master Document 175 · CircularOS Sovereign Record
The Retail Taxonomy
Every type of retail entity that touches plastic — defined, differentiated, and mapped to its role in the circular economy. Not all shops are the same. Not all entry points are equal. This document makes the distinction permanent.
Section 01 — The Six Retail Types
The front-line of the circular economy. These are the shops on every residential street — the ones people walk to daily. High footfall, small footprint, huge collective volume when networked. A single corner shop might generate 0.2–0.5 tonnes of plastic per month. A network of 100 shops in a single postcode is 20–50 tonnes — £9,000–£22,500 in dPRN value, every month. These are the entry nodes for the DRS scheme. They are also the hardest to organise individually, which is why the aggregated collection approach (see MD-176) is the key.
DRS EligibleBin PlacementdPRN MintingHotspot Priority7% Covenant
Open Shop Network →
Mid-to-large retail chains with centralised supply chains, waste management contracts, and ESG reporting requirements. These are not approached individually — they are approached at the estate management or sustainability director level. A single supermarket generates 2–8 tonnes of plastic waste per month. They already have waste collection contracts; the opportunity is to get CircularOS onto those contracts as the verification and dPRN layer. They also produce food surplus which connects to the Nourish stream and the Social Dividend.
Existing ContractsESG ReportingFood SurplusBulk Volumes7% Covenant
Supermarket Portal →
Very large-scale retail estates — often out-of-town, high volume, multiple waste streams simultaneously (plastic, cardboard, food, hazardous). These are enterprise-level entry points requiring formal business development, procurement engagement, and contractual structures. Volume potential is enormous — 10–50+ tonnes per month per site. The opportunity here is not just collection but full white-label integration: the hypermarket becomes a branded CircularOS verification node, visible to their customers, auditable for their ESG reports.
Multi-StreamWhite-LabelProcurementESG Audit7% Covenant
Hypermarket Portal →
Forecourts operate a shop (often a convenience store branded as M&S Simply Food, Spar, or own-brand), a café, and fuel — all on one site. They are DRS-eligible for the shop side, and generate significant single-use plastic from drinks and food packaging. They have existing waste removal contracts. The entry point here is the shop manager or the forecourt operator, not the fuel brand. High footfall, daily transactions, and consistent plastic volume make them a strong secondary node.
DRS PointShop + CaféDaily FootfallOperator Owned
DRS Starter Kit →
A shopping centre is not one client — it is 30–150 clients managed by one landlord. This is the aggregated opportunity. Approach the centre management, not each individual shop. One agreement covers every tenant. One collection system serves the entire complex. One Covenant covers all plastic that moves through the site. The Merry Hill Centre approach (see MD-176) is the template for this. Food courts specifically generate very high density single-use plastic: cups, trays, packaging, bottles — all within 50 metres of each other.
Centre ManagementAggregated CollectionAll TenantsOne CovenantMD-176
See MD-176 — The Shop Plan →
Discounters are high-volume, low-margin retailers in high-footfall locations — usually town centres, retail strips, or shopping centres. They are accessible: unlike supermarket chains they often have regional operations managers who can make quick decisions. Their packaging waste is significant and usually has no formal circular route. Getting a discounter chain onto the CircularOS dPRN system means bulk volume, chain-wide rollout, and an ESG story they don't currently have.
Regional OpsChain RolloutHigh VolumeESG Story
Route via CCC →
Section 02 — Side by Side Comparison
| Retail Type |
Avg Monthly Volume |
DRS Eligible |
Entry Point |
Speed to Close |
Covenant Applies |
| 🛒 Independent Shop |
0.2–0.5 t |
✓ Yes |
Shop owner |
Fast |
✓ Always |
| 🏪 Supermarket |
2–8 t |
✓ Yes |
Sustainability Dir. |
Medium |
✓ Always |
| 🏬 Hypermarket |
10–50+ t |
✓ Yes |
Procurement |
Slow |
✓ Always |
| ⛽ Forecourt |
0.3–1 t |
✓ Yes |
Forecourt operator |
Fast |
✓ Always |
| 🍽️ Shopping Centre |
5–40 t (whole site) |
✓ Yes |
Centre management |
Medium |
✓ Always |
| 💷 Discounter Chain |
1–5 t per store |
✓ Yes |
Regional ops mgr |
Medium |
✓ Always |
Section 03 — The Covenant & Community Claim
📜 The 7% Covenant — What It Means for Retail Partners
The 7% Covenant is not a fee. It is not a charge. It is a constitutional commitment — built into every transaction across the entire CircularOS ecosystem. When any retail entity participates in the network and plastic is verified and valued at £450/tonne, the 7% Covenant fires first, automatically, before any split occurs.
Every shop, every supermarket, every hypermarket — the moment they participate, they become a Covenant contributor. They cannot opt out of the Covenant. It is the infrastructure.
The 40 Meals Conversion
Every tonne of plastic verified through the network converts to 40 meals through the Social Dividend. The 7% Covenant funds this conversion. So yes — when a shop participates, they are directly contributing to community meals, food access, and the social dividend. That is their community claim. That is the story they can tell their customers.
This shop is part of a system that turned your plastic into food for someone who needed it.
1 tonne = 1 dPRN = £450 = 7% Covenant = 40 meals. Every retail participant can make this claim. It is not charity — it is protocol.
Section 04 — Architect Input (30%)
01
Start with shopping centres, not individual shops
One conversation with a centre manager gets you 30–80 shops instantly. The effort to close 80 individual shop owners is immense. The effort to close one landlord or facilities manager — with the right document — is a single meeting. MD-176 is the mechanism. Merry Hill is the proof of concept.
02
Forecourts are underrated entry points
Every forecourt has an independent operator making decisions daily. They are not waiting for procurement approval. They are small business owners who understand cost and revenue. The DRS Starter Kit is the offer. The Covenant is the story. The bin is the product. This is a fast close at scale — there are 8,000+ forecourts in the UK.
03
The Covenant claim is the marketing asset
Every retail type wants an ESG story. The 40 Meals conversion is that story — simple, verifiable, and emotional. "Your plastic is feeding communities." That message gets shops to put the bin out, gets supermarkets to sign contracts, and gets hypermarkets to put it in their annual report. Build the Covenant claim into every retail pitch.
04
Discounters are the fastest chain rollout
B&M, Home Bargains, and Poundland all have regional operations managers with real authority. Unlike supermarket chains, they can say yes at a regional level. One regional yes means 15–30 stores on the network immediately. Target the Midlands regional contacts first — you are already operating in B66.
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