Cherwell District Council has created a new environmental award scheme to help support and encourage businesses who are making changes to their recycling habits.

The council’s business waste service team presented the first certificate for excellent recycling to Bicester-based stone supply business, The Granite House.

The award was given in recognition of the company’s progress towards being more environmentally friendly.

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The council is the business waste provider for The Granite House, and claims to have seen first hand the processes that have been put in place to ensure that environmental practices are at the heart of business operations.

A spokesperson for The Granite House said: “We are conscious of the impact that our business can have on the environment and have committed to reducing this impact wherever possible.

“We do thorough checks to ensure our stone suppliers and their supply chains meet with the current industry environmental guidelines and comply with all applicable environmental regulations.”

The company also reflected on how the quarrying industry has been looking at how it can mitigate the worst impacts of quarrying and its related activities on local communities, while still fulfilling a strong demand for stone products.

Councillor Andrew McHugh, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said: “We are passionate about encouraging companies to embrace more environmentally friendly processes and provide support to our businesses, so they are able to tackle waste reduction and recycling through our business waste services.

“Being able to recognise and celebrate organisations that are actively making changes for the better is important to our team here at Cherwell.

“That’s why we created the certificate for excellent recycling, as we believe that it is important to reward and highlight those that are increasing their commitment to lowering their environmental impact.

“During our time working with The Granite House so far, we have not experienced any issues and have always found their recycling to be correctly sorted and never contaminated.

“They are a great example of how a business can recycle waste effectively. It is a pleasure to provide a business waste collection service to a company committed to becoming more sustainable.”

There are criteria that organisations have to meet to be eligible for receiving a certificate for excellent recycling, including proof they are recycling at least 50 per cent of their waste, they are a current customer of Cherwell District Council’s Business Waste service, and they are located in the Cherwell district.

Oxfordshire County Council was named the best performing county council waste disposal authority in England earlier this year.

In 2021-22, householders recycled, reused or composted 58.2 per cent of their household waste, according to the latest government figures.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1