EQUESTRIAN
A new recycling initiative has cut waste and saved on labour costs
War on waste
Integrating Ludlow into the community as part of the BHA’s Racing Together initiative is another goal for Tom, and an early project has been to work with Zero Waste Events to improve recycling rather than just using skips for raceday rubbish.
After touring the site with Ali Thomas of Zero Waste, Tom introduced bin sets comprising a bin each for non-recyclable rubbish, plastic/cans and paper. For the the kitchens and outside caterers, he opted for a food-waste bin, a sack for recycling and a bin for non-recyclable packaging.
Skips were swapped for 1100 Euro bins, with food waste bins collected separately.
Zero Waste Events collect the waste front and back of house and litter pick to keep on top of the inevitable betting slips.
Ludlow now recycles 85% of the waste produced on a race day and has seen that racegoers use the bins well with far less litter dropped.
“The day after the meeting, stands are much cleaner and tidying up after racing is easier. Recycling also makes commercial sense: previously skips cost £960 alone, with two members of staff needed for two days giving a total labour cost of around £420.”
“Using the Zero Waste team, a managed wheelie bin system with collections after each meeting costs a standing charge of 0.10p per day (large bins x 8) and the bin collection at £170, for trade waste, cardboard, and food waste. The cost of the Zero Waste team was £350, plus £320 for staff to clear up the day after.”
This machinery shed was apparently used as a dance hall when the racecourse did duty as a POW camp in WWII. The John Deere ride-on is a new addition to speed up preparation of lawned areas
makes Ludlow what it is. It can take a lot for management to realise that a train of thought will work, but we’re getting there.” One area that has seen a reshuffle is how the grounds team work on racedays. The three full time groundsmen are supported by a crew of regular casual workers, many of whom are retired.
“I’ve altered what the men do on a raceday, who goes where, and split the team up to look after different sections - it seems to work well and meet the demands of modern racing. For example, we have four attendants to each fence now, to deal with the safety warning flags etc.”
All course repairs are carried out by local part-time staff, who also come in the day before racing to sweep and tidy up in the grandstand and enclosures.
“I have one who arranges the treaders-in, so I negotiate with him how many treaders are needed depending on how badly the surface is cut up, and then delegate the management of that team to him. Once you’ve a got a system in place that works well, it’s just easy,” comments Tom. Simon comments that, in common with other leisure activities, racegoers’ expectations are ever higher: “They appreciate the friendly, professional atmosphere, and trainers have confidence that we can present consistent ground and will be honest about it. We’re always looking
at ways to develop, with an increasing number of themed days, such as a charity day, our new sponsor Wye Valley Brewery’s Day and Ladies Day at the end of the season.”
Much of the grandstand dates back to Victorian times and adds to the course’s charm, but updates have recently been made to owners’ and trainers’ hospitality to improve comfort, with the weighing room and winners’ enclosure next on the agenda for an upgrade. “We’ve made lots of small improvements, such as replacing gas bottles dotted around the buildings with underground tanks, tidying up and saving costs. We have conferences and events to think about, so the course has to be kept looking good year round, and in the closed period we plan for the future as the new season soon comes round,” explains Tom.
“This summer, the parade ring will get some attention to tackle moss, and we will scarify the course to open up the top layer. We plan to do this in house; we have a rake but need to find way to collect the debris. It’s always the aim to use the core team and trusted casuals; for example, we recently hired in digger to do a construction task ourselves.”
Steeplechase fences are moved onto fresh ground after four or five meetings each season
108 PC February/March 2019
Irrigation has proved vital over the winter, with the track’s own reservoir storing water from the river and a borehole
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