These range from helping customers to go green with recycling projects, to major environmentally friendly schemes adopted by Webbs themselves. The firm hopes to cut its carbon footprint and reduce energy use.
The family firm has just introduced plant pot recycling at its Wychbold garden centre as its latest initiative. Customers can now bring their empty pots back to Wychbold which are sent off locally to be processed into plastic pellets before being made back into pots in Pershore. The pots are then returned to the Bransford Webbs Plant Company in Worcestershire where they are refilled with plants ready for Webbs’ customers.
When Webbs at Wychbold expanded in 2006 the new building was designed with up to date energy efficient materials. All the rain run off from the retail buildings and car park is collected, filtered through oil interceptors and reed beds, and then pumped up for storage in to the onsite reservoir. This in turn provides over 80% of water required to irrigate the nursery beds and tunnels.
Other green initiatives at Webbs, Wychbold, include:
- waste cardboard and plastic is baled onsite and then sold on for recycling
- the riverside gardens’ team compost all green waste from the gardens for re-use as mulch on the beds and in borders
- over 2000 trees were planted in 1999 as part of Webbs’ Millennium planting scheme along the banks of the River Salwarpe. This has created a more diverse wildlife haven.
- recycled products, such as new range of pots made from recycled glass and car tyres, outdoor clocks made out of recycled vending coffee cups and others are sold by Webbs
- Webbs jute environmentally friendly ‘bags for life’ are available for customers to purchase
Executive Chairman Ed Webb said: “As a company we have always been environmentally aware and work hard to maintain this as a high priority. Having the recycling initiatives for customers right here on the doorstep, such as the plant pot recycling scheme makes it simple and hassle-free for local people to do their bit.”
He added, “We also stock many products in our Food Hall which are locally produced and the same is true of our plants. We grow many of our plants in two Worcestershire nurseries, in Wychbold and Bransford. Not only does this support the local economy with jobs at the Bransford Webbs Plant Company, but it also means happier plants that don’t have to be transported over long distances. We also support other great local specialists and growers to keep it local.”
Over 1.2million plants were grown by Bransford Webbs last year going on to delight gardeners across the country.
