In 2021, we worked with sustainability consultant Avieco to audit our waste. We looked at how much we were generating, what it was, the level of contamination and where it was going. This resulted in a waste strategy to increase recycling and reduce general waste.
This is what we have been doing to deliver this strategy:
- Find a new new waste and recycling collection company - we now work with Smiths Waste Management
- We are providing more recycling options on site, for the public and behind the scenes; for example adding more recycling bins.
- We make sure coffee grounds are collected as food waste not general waste. They are also available for visitors to take home for free.
- Reducing paper towels in our visitor toilets and we now have Dyson hand dryers in our staff toilets too.
- Eliminating condiment sachets and single use plastics .
- Continuing to monitor and research more sustainable purchases and being aware of the 'end of life' of products we use (i.e. where does it go when we are finished with it).
Using the Waste Hierarchy Tool, the first step is to 'Prevent Waste'.
We are raising awareness with staff about more sustainable purchasing choices, sustainable products and help with deciding whether purchases are needed.
Did you know that non-recyclables in a recyclables bin can contaminate the whole bin load?
Please don't 'wish recycle' - if in doubt, leave it out, or take it home.
We are reducing our waste in many ways:
- Encouraging visitors, volunteers and staff to refuse cutlery and napkins if not needed and working with our catering providers to not offer these items unless requested.
- Introduced a plastic bag charge in the shop and a pizza box charge for takeaway food on site.
- Our Learning Programme is now plastic free!
- Trialled the removal of Christmas tree netting when wrapping Christmas trees we sell.
- Ending use of mixed-material, e.g. our plastic seasonal information boards. We used to have 40 boards each seasons, but these are no longer created and staff have changed to purchasing recyclable alternatives for new boards.
- Encouraging our staff not to laminate posters and to use eco-friendly alternatives.
You can now get 30p off your hot drink at The Pantry, when you bring your own reusable cup from home!
Re-Use
- Bring your own coffee cup - you'll get 30p off!
- Coffee grounds are given away to staff and visitors.
- The Smokehouse uses pizza tins rather than cardboard boxes for people who are staying in to eat.
- We sourced reusable black plastic tree netting for our young trees.
- Sold our surplus furniture.
- We re-use our plant pots for propagation.
- Encouraging staff to reuse surplus materials before recycling.
Recycle
- We have a number of recycling streams, including food waste and glass.
- All our food waste is collected for anaerobic digestion and the creation of bio-methane with GENeco in Avonmouth.
- We have ad hoc recycling of unusual items, e.g outdoor signs.
- We are working hard to find recyclable single-use cups for visitors to enjoy their coffee. We are now working with the Eco Coffee Company who provide us with recyclable and compostable cups and lids. These need to go in a separate bin in order to be recycled effectively.
- We are also looking into sourcing recyclable food packaging.
- We use a 'terracycle' recycling scheme for staff offices for hard-to-recycle items.
- We have sourced a company who recycle our hard hats into pellets and we are looking into PPE recycling.
- Our reusable black plastic tree netting for our young trees is collected specifically to be recycled.
- Working with Seacourt to make use of their recycling scheme for our marketing and event banners. Banners have been changed from PVC (considered a toxic product) to fabric or another recyclable material.
Did you know that 'compostable' is not the same as 'biodegradable'? Being biodegradable does not mean that the product is compostable because biodegradable products may take a lot longer to decompose. The waste left at the end may not be beneficial to the composted soil due to the microplastics the waste might contain.
There is also different types of compostable, for example home vs industrial composting. There are very few industrial recycling facilities.
Recover
- We used old metal signs at Westonbirt to create building materials/roof materials for our Community Shelter!
- Our family craft activities use natural products.
Dispose
When we throw anything into the general waste here at Westonbirt, Bristol Waste pick it up and take it to their plant. They then sort the waste to check that we haven't missed any recyclable materials, recycling them accordingly. The rest is then sent to to generate electricity.
We recycle as much as we can and, as a last resort, we will send items for disposal. This is our final stop and we are trying to prevent, reduce, reuse, recycle and recover first to make sure the disposal minimised and we to help us achieve Zero Waste (zero to landfill).
- We have changed our waste provider and our waste is now taken locally to Smiths Waste and Recycling Depot where they segregate items sending them to Energy from Waste to generate electricity. The remaining waste is sorted and taken to a larger facility.
- Some items pose a challenge for us including contaminated recycling, tissues and dog poo - so please help us by taking this rubbish home when you can!
Our aims for the future
