The Meadows Shopping Centre in Chelmsford has won the 2008 Sceptre Award for Environmental Initiative of the Year. The Sceptre retail sector awards cover UK shopping centres.
The Meadowsโ won with the installation of their accelerated food composter. To explain briefly, the composter processes food waste products, including meat and fish. Waste food generated within The Meadows is placed into the composter and heated at more than 65 degrees C to kill off any bacteria. The entire process takes six to eight weeks. During the process, the food waste is reduced by 90 per cent in volume, and turned into compost to be used on the landscape areas around The Meadows. When fully functional, waste sent to landfill will be reduced by 90pc. Local composting means that in addition to reducing waste sent to landfill there is a reduction in transportation, cutting out subsequent emissions and reducing the Meadowโs overall carbon footprint. The composter has been financed by Meteor, the Meadowsโ security and cleaning contractor. The company describes this as a self-funding initiative with payments being made from the savings made from the reduction in emptying the compactor and associated costs. Teresa Gottschalk, The Meadows Environment Officer said: โWe are elated at winning such a prestigious award, however this would not have been possible without the financing and commitment from our service partner Meteor.โ
Pictured
Front row: Sue Patel (Operations Manager, The Meadows); Teresa Gottschalk (Environmental Officer, The Meadows); Sarah Blower (The Meadows). Back row: Gary Simpson (Director of Sales, Meteor), Darren Ottley (Centre Manager The Meadows) and Daren Smith (Centre Contract Manager Meteor) Photo courtesy of Meteor
