ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

GENERAL
We are mainly a retail side of the Organic Produce business and although our products are all certified ‘ORGANIC’ and thus grown in harmony with nature and make as little impact as possible on the wider environment, it is also necessary for ourselves to consider our own business impact on the environment.
As a business in addition to the ‘Organic Produce’ we also get a quantity of packaging materials such as cardboard, wood and plastic boxes and utilise plastic delivery boxes together with paper and plastic bags. We also use diesel fuel for deliveries and electrical power for refrigeration and lights.

BIO-DIESEL
Whilst we currently use a low-level percentage bio-diesel (5%) this is due to availability in the area. To use a high level of bio-diesel it is necessary to adjust the timing of the diesel injection to prevent the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) compounds. Once the higher levels become available (as they already are in some areas) we will use them.

AIR MILES
Some of our organic produce has to come from overseas, such as bananas for instance. These are all brought by boat, salad produce which could only come via air from distant locations is not used and only produce available within short road travel distances from the continent is used. In time we would expect all boats and road haulage to be fuelled by bio-diesel, which is Carbon Dioxide emission neutral as the plants used to provide the raw material for the bio-diesel convert the CO2 in the first place.

REDUCE
Turn off fridges and lights when not needed or in use.
Maintain delivery vehicle to obtain optimum miles per litre.
Review delivery rounds to maintain shortest (least fuel use) distances.

REUSE
Return all produce boxes to UK suppliers where in suitable condition.
Provide facilities to reuse our own paper and plastic product packaging as well as from others such as egg boxes.
Utilise the cardboard boxes where practical in place of plastic boxes for client produce deliveries.

RECYCLE/COMPOST
Separate for recycle or compost all materials for which our own or local facilities exist. In our area there are no plastic recycle facilities currently and they do not accept vegetable waste for composting only green garden waste.
(NOTE: - There is no problem with composting vegetable waste it is only meat that is a problem, we are now adding a composting unit for vegetable waste)
Also we do provide some of our edible leafy waste for rabbits and guinea pigs, if you have a suitable recipient please let us know.

LANDFILL
Currently we estimate we put to landfill about 10% of our total weight of refuse, we aim to reduce this to below 5% by the end of 2006 and will then be working on getting it to nil if possible.