Background

Warren House is a conference training venue located in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey, which also caters for weddings and private dining. The venue strives to offer guests "five star" facilities and exceptional service to provide a perfect location for events of any size. The venue can accommodate up to 120 people, while offering a pool, gym and a dining room for up to 80 people.

Warren House realises that its work may have a direct, or indirect, impact on the environment and is committed to reducing this wherever possible. The venue already demonstrates strong green credentials with use of regenerated paper for printing; the replacement of chemicals with environmentally-friendly alternatives; a 'green' linen policy to encourage guests to use towels more than once; and the recycling of paper and general waste from the whole building.

The Requirement

Despite the existing measures put in place to reduce its environmental impact, Warren House still offered no solution for food waste. With the venue's kitchens preparing an average of 500 meals a week, the venue was sending over 2 tonnes of food waste to landfill per month.

Not only were Warren House aware that sending food waste to landfill was damaging to the environment, but it was also increasingly expensive. The business had to factor in costs for landfill tax, container rental and waste collection costs, which were in addition to the time spent keeping up to date with the changes in legislation for the disposal of Animal by Products and former foodstuffs, a growing headache.

The food waste was also unsightly to guests and the smell from the bins risked impacting on guests' stays in a negative manner. It was important to Warren House that an alternative solution be found and including food waste in its green policy would also help the venue promote a comprehensive sustainability policy in marketing literature as a selling point to business clients.

"For us, the need to find an alternative solution to food waste disposal was influenced by cost, but this wasn't our sole motivation. We were instead led by a desire to play our part in protecting the environment. The whole team has worked with Tidy Planet to implement changes that have substantially reduced our carbon footprint, as well as benefitting our bottom line."

Paul Bellingham, Head Chef, Warren House

The Solution

In June 2007, Warren House met with Tidy Planet to discuss what alternative solutions could be implemented to prevent food waste being sent to landfill. After consulting with Warren House about its specific food waste needs, Tidy Planet proposed installing an A700 Rocket in-vessel composter, which effectively composts up to 1,400 litres of mixed organic waste per week.

Warren House implemented the Rocket composter in August 2007, enabling the venue to dispose of all organic and food waste into the Rocket and through the simple addition of woodchip, the machine is able to produce quality compost in only 14 days. This compost is then able to be used on the grounds of gardens Warren House to help nurture the plants and produce being grown.

Results

Since introducing the Rocket, Warren House has made significant savings, with there no longer a need to hire food waste containers, pay landfill tax nor waste collection charges, plus with the rising costs associated with landfill taxes and waste clearance, this saving is set to further increase.

In addition to the cost savings, the venue has seen an increase in bookings since improving its green credentials, as now an even higher number of businesses are keen to use the venue for events, with the sustainability features making a positive statement to their own employees and customers. This factor also allows further potential for growth with private customers also, as discussion over carbon vouchers at a personal level offer the potential for new political policies to be introduced, which would place Warren House in a strong position to take advantage of this.

Previous to installing the Rocket, Warren House was sending half a tonne per week to landfill, which contributes to 7 tonnes of harmful CO2e gases. In contrast, the composting cycle is environmentally-friendly and with a continuous provision of compost, the venue no longer needs to buy in external supplies, which further reduces costs.

The review of food waste disposal has seen Warren House look more closely at other methods of reducing its carbon footprint and since the Rocket was installed, the venue has brought about further environmentally-friendly changes, with motion sensors for corridor lights having been fitted; printer cartridges now being recycled; and glass and cardboard recycling introduced. The Rocket provided Warren House with the impetus to review other areas of the business and it has since become a far more sustainable venue, with fewer outgoings and increased booking numbers.

"Warren House are proud to be associated with Tidy Planet and we hope we can continue to be part of any further new and exciting improvements in recycling and bring about the awareness of these benefits within the hospitality industry as a whole."

Paul Bellingham, Head Chef, Warren House

For more information on how Tidy Planet can help you save the planet, as well as a tidy sum contact us on 01625 666 798 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .