The Gardens Group’s green collection scheme
With 1,500 Christmas trees to collect from Dorset homes and 7,500 bags of peat free compost to be delivered throughout January, The Gardens Group developed a clever system to maximise efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint.
Making sure each van to leave Castle Gardens in Sherborne, Brimsmore Gardens in Yeovil and Poundbury Gardens near Dorchester did so full of compost bags and returned full of Christmas trees, the team successfully collected all of the Christmas trees by the end of January. These will now be chipped and used for soil improvement schemes on the Sherborne Castle Estate and throughout the garden centres.
Mike Burks, managing director of The Gardens Group, explains: “These two important thrusts of the business seem unconnected, but have been combined to work together for the good of the planet.
"So with some careful route planning, we were able to make sure deliveries going to certain villages and towns coincided with Christmas tree collection requests from the same area.
"It has been extremely successful and something we intend to hone and perfect in years to come, as we continue to limit our impact on the environment as much as possible, while inspiring gardeners of all ages to protect their little patch of the planet.”