Airdrie-based Albert Bartlett & Sons has won silver at the 2005 Green Apple Awards. Now in their eleventh year, these awards are run by the Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-profit environment group which is dedicated to rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world.
Winners were presented with their trophies at The House of Commons, where they were guests of Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt. Former England cricket captain Allan Lamb presented the trophies.
Bartlett’s was nominated for its water and soil management practices. In the past year, the company has significantly reduced water/effluent usage in addition to recovering soil for land remediation projects.
The company is now the UK’s biggest supplier of root vegetables and it opened its 56 acre, Airdrie site in November 2003, less than 1 mile from the company’s original, 50-year old Lanarkshire facility.
This commitment to the local area is matched by Bartlett’s commitment to the local environment. The building’s design makes every effort to limit its impact, including an industry-leading on-site water treatment plant that recycles the water used in the production process. Equally impressive is the fact that 70 per cent of this water is sourced from the factory roof and the remaining 30 per cent is provided by borehole, mains water was only used in the commissioning of the site.
There is innovation on the recycling front too. The dedicated washing lines for local, organic and imported produce enable the water and soil residues produced from each to be separately re-cycled, with much of the soil utilised for embankment restoration. Recycling of packaging and office waste is also a key focus, with material graded and baled in-house prior to being transferred to nominated recycling contractors.
It can lay claim to being the most modern and eco-friendly facility of its type in Europe, the commitment of the team responsible for running the operation must also take credit for its award-winning environmental performance. As engineering manager Sandy Colvan points out: ‘We implement environmental good practice at every level, from adopting an advanced building management system that helps us monitor and reduce energy usage, right down to fitting low volume spray nozzles on taps, to ensure the minimum use of water.”
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