SCEPTRE winner
Published: 28 August, 2008
Brian Saunders of Futur presented the SCEPTRE Award for Environmental Management to Teresa Gottschalk from The Meadows, Chelmsford.
The Meadows has become the first shopping centre in the UK to introduce a Big Hanna accellerated composter, which allows it to divert all its food waste from landfill. The machine heats all the food waste to 65 degrees to kill off any bacteria, and over six to eight weeks reduces it in volume by up to 90 per cent. The resulting compost is used on the landscaped areas.
The £26,000 cost of the machine was financed by the cleaning contractor and because it has reduced the cost of waste removal from the site it is effectively self-financing. And because fewer waste trucks have to visit The Meadows, fewer emissions are generated, further lowering the centre's carbon footprint.
When fully functional, the machine will help The Meadows break the 90 per cent recycling barrier.
This could not have been achieved without a management team that is deeply passionate about preserving the environment.
