Roadchef joins the recycling revolution !
Roadchef Service station on the M6 toll road at Norton Canes have started to recycle much more waste from the site. Most waste streams are being dispatched for off site treatment, but coffee grounds and food waste will be recycled on site with their new Ridan Composting system. The compost created will be used to enhance the service area gardens and grounds and make the service station more green. By recycling on-site Roadchef will greatly reduce their carbon footprint as food waste will no longer need to be carried away from the service station. Coffee grounds are a perfect example of a waste that could be a rich resource. Rather than sending them to landfill where they will decompose anaerobically producing harmful greenhouse gases, Roadchef have chosen to harness this resource and make lovely compost. The whole process is now aerobic and happens on site, taking only a couple of months!
‘Our 30 locations are visited by 44 million customers every year. We serve around one million breakfasts, 500,000 portions of fish and chips and more than five million coffees every year. The very nature of our business means that we are responsible for disposing of a lot of waste.’
Hopefully we will see more of the same at motorway service stations in future. Check out their coffee grounds waste management strategy plan:
1. You order and enjoy your coffee
2. The coffee grounds are collected and separated
3. Coffee grounds are then put into a into a composter, where they are mixed with wood pellets and air
4. This mixture heats up naturally, very quickly turning the coffee grounds into a rich fertile compost
5. After just 12 weeks the compost can be used to enrich soil and grow flowers, food or even more coffee!
This is a trial project, hopefully we will see more of the same at motorway service stations in future.
