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Recyclig in Ribble Valley - it's the 'inn thing'
AN historic Valley inn is leading the way in reducing its landfill waste.
Through a scheme which has been developed by the Offshoots Permaculture Project in Burnley, the Inn at Whitewell's has cut its landfill waste by 90%.
The well-known hostelry is the first restaurant to have got involved with the scheme which is managed by environmental charity Groundwork Pennine Lancashire and funded by Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council.
As well as having its waste transported to a compost barn, the Inn at Whitewell, will also use produce grown at the Offshoots site. "Once our staff got used to diverting the food waste to the composting bins instead of the general waste bins, we've had no problems at all," said The Inn at Whitewell's chef, Jamie Cadman.
"Special bins have been placed around the kitchen to make things as easy as possible and we're all really happy to be purchasing a service that has such great environmental benefits."
Offshoots Project Manager Phil Dewhurst said: "This is a genuine third sector service-solution to an increasingly worrying situation. We're offering a unique solution to the cost and ethical issues associated with commercial waste but we're also helping the local community in Burnley. A lot of the staff who are involved with our project have been referred from social services or GPs and working here helps people with their social skills and confidence."
And Mick Miller, from the Local Market Development team at Global Renewables added: "We've had a very positive response to the scheme and we're trying to encourage more businesses to join, which is extremely important from an environmental point of view.
"For every tonne of food waste we compost, there is a saving of 223kg of CO2, which equates to five weeks of travel in an average car.And of course we can't overlook the financial savings for business either. The Government has said that landfill taxes will continue to increase by 8 per tonne per year and this will result in even more savings for those involved in the scheme."
Following the success of the new composting scheme, the organisations involved are looking to further increase the amount of commercial waste that is recycled by using more independent organisations like Offshoots to collect waste such as wood, packaging and metals and divert them from landfill.
"These initiatives mean that Lancashire is taking the lead on resource efficiency in the food sector", adds Mr Miller. "We hope that other local businesses will now seize this opportunity to set a great example to other regions and to reap the environmental and economical benefits available to them."
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Friday 24 May 2013
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