New Covent Garden looks set to become one of the capital’s greenest places of business as it steps up its war on waste.
The Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) is working with Entrance, London’s support service for green enterprises, to seek new opportunities to recycle more of their waste.
The market, at which 250 companies are based and over 2,500 people work, currently recycles around 29 percent of its waste. “We saw an opportunity to recycle more, particularly of our organic waste, which is the largest proportion,” said CGMA’s chief executive, Jan Lloyd.
The CGMA has conducted a survey among market businesses about their concerns over the waste produced onsite, and a waste audit was conducted over the course of four days. The CGMA hopes to use this information to improve the recycling facilities and create a sustainable market.
The CGMA is also looking into a food waste recycling programme. According to the market authority, food waste is one of the most difficult types of waste to manage because of its environmental impacts. However, it is also one of the most valuable ‘waste streams’ in terms of its potential to produce electricity.
Kate Nelson, senior project manager for London Remade, said: “New Covent Garden Market is the UK’s largest horticultural market and has a large concentration of catering distributors. This, together with the 340 different types of fruit and vegetables they sell, demonstrates a complete waste system and unique opportunity for recycling and reprocessing. Through the Enhance programme, we have been helping the CGMA to identify opportunities to future-proof their waste management processes and facilities. We hope to help make New Covent Garden the most sustainable market in the UK.”
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