Eco Sustainable Solutions Leads Dorset into a Sustainable 2022
Organic recycling and waste processing company, Eco Sustainable Solutions, has just released its 2021 Sustainability Report which reveals some staggering statistics on Dorset’s waste. The family-run firm with sites in Bournemouth and Dorchester, has been quietly cleaning up Dorset’s waste for almost 30 years and the release of its annual Sustainability Report gives us all food for thought as we think about how much we throw away.
The good news is that Eco are experts in providing waste solutions that maximise the output of the material and in 2021 the team prevented 147,714 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere by diverting waste from landfill, equivalent to the carbon released from 30,000 homes. Eco prevented this waste going into landfill by recycling every possible element, recycling a mammoth 236,540 tonnes of waste in 2021 alone, that’s the equivalent of 46,380 return flights to Australia.
As well as a processing site at West Parley near Bournemouth, Eco also has an anaerobic digestion plant in Piddlehinton near Dorchester where it takes all the food waste it collects and turns it into green energy. Last year, Eco took 40,481 tonnes of food waste from households and businesses across Dorset turning it into 12,415 MWH of ‘green’ electricity, enough to power 4,281 homes. Justin Dampney, Chief Operating Officer, commented: “We’ve been taking people’s food and garden waste from across BCP and Dorset for years and I don’t think many people know what happens to their waste once they put it in the bin at home. We come along and turn their waste into something else; energy, garden products, building supplies, it could become anything.”
Besides waste, the 2021 Sustainability Report also reports on Eco’s Biodiversity and Ecology projects which includes its own dedicated 12 hectares of land surrounding the West Parley site: “We’ve turned this poor-quality arable land back into native Dorset heathland, allowing better biodiversity and carbon capture.
“This has seen a significant increase in the diversity of plants and wildlife, providing habitats for many native species including smooth snakes, lapwings, snipe and skylarks. We’re also planning to continue our ecological commitment by planting a 1,000 m² wildflower meadow, as well as installing further nest boxes to encourage nesting for barn owls and other bird species.”
2021 Highlights include:
- Over 147,700 tonnes of CO2 prevented from entering the atmosphere by diverting waste from landfill
- Over 236,500 tonnes of waste recycled
- Prevented almost 37 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere from a 20% reduction in diesel usage by switching to hybrid machinery and renewable fuels
- Developing 10% more green electricity than the previous year – enough to power 6,000 homes
- 9% decrease in Eco’s direct emissions despite an increase in production
- Over 40,400 tonnes of food waste recycled, producing over 4,200 homes worth of electricity
- Over 48,600 tonnes of wood waste recycled
- Over 67,400 tonnes of garden waste recycled, producing 30,000 tonnes of compost
- Over 21,700 tonnes of street sweepings recycled to create aggregate
- Over 58,200 tonnes of excavated soil recycled and repurposed
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