Sustainability
sustainability group, a joint committee of both residents and senior JRHT staff that had already successfully overseen a number of ecologically desirable innovations. The sustainability group pointed
out to JRHT that the replacement of the macerator provided an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. JRHT agreed, and the decision was taken that the Hartrigg Oaks kitchen should switch from treating food waste as ‘rubbish’ to recycling it. Of course, it also avoided spending a considerable sum on a new macerator! After careful consideration, ReFood
was appointed to provide a food waste recycling service for Hartrigg Oaks. Once a week, wheelie bins of discarded food are collected, with the food waste taken to an AD site in Doncaster.
A fresh approach to sustainable food waste management However, the successful recycling of food waste from the Hartrigg Oaks kitchen is only half of the story. Once this service had been established, the
sustainability group turned their attention to the question of how best to meet the recycling wishes of sustainability-minded residents of the 152 bungalows. This was a more complex matter,
because it involved distinguishing between food waste that is suitable for composting, and food waste that is not. Every Hartrigg Oaks bungalow has a small garden, and many households additionally take over nearby areas of the grounds to extend their gardening territory. In addition, two areas of the grounds
are given over to allotments, so there is plenty of demand for compost. The solution was clear. There had to
be scope for bungalow residents to use some of their food waste as compost and dispose of the rest in a sustainable manner. In other words, any such household
needed to have two small bins available for recycling food waste: one for composting and one for ReFood. The development of recycling food
waste at Hartrigg Oaks in the last few years is a shining example that, with ReFood’s help, many other social groups of all kinds can follow with confidence.
TCHE Philip Simpson
Philip Simpson is the commercial director of ReFood – the UK’s leading food waste recycler. ReFood operates three anaerobic digestion plants in the UK and nine across Europe. ReFood is part of SARIA Group, Europe’s largest fully-integrated food chain recycling business, employing 10,000 staff at 180 sites.
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www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • November 2021
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