Commitment to the community
At Ruxley Manor, being a garden centre, we recognise the importance of our environment and the planet as a whole. We believe that ‘sustainability’ should be embedded in our business, through the way in which we operate, the culture of our team and in supporting the local community. It’s a journey on which we are continually learning as to how we can improve and we commit to making positive changes.
Local Projects
Each year we nominate a new charity to support at Ruxley. This is always a local charity and is voted for by our team. Our Charity Committee then put together a calendar of fundraising events throughout the year, anything from team Quiz Nights at Sidcup Rugby Club, to climbing the 3 Peaks in 24 hours! We also do various initiatives on the shop floor, to raise the profile of our chosen charity.
This year we are very pleased to announce that we have appointed Dandelion Time (www.dandeliontime.org.uk), a charity based in Kent that helps children to overcome emotional issues, as our partnered charity for the year.
Ruxley in Bloom is our annual gardening competition, previously run by Bexley Council. Local residents and schools in a 15-mile radius of Ruxley Manor can enter the competition for free. The aim of competition is to encourage people to brighten their outdoor spaces. This is proven to be good for mental health and also gives individuals and local communities an opportunity to work together to bring about change. There is a selection of prizes to win, and it really is a great community event for all involved!
Water Conservation
On-site reservoirs supply over 40% of water used for watering plants.
Water saving and recycling products and expertise available in-store. We have a great range of drought resistant plants that are in less need of frequent watering.
In the early 1980s an investment was made in building two water storage reservoirs and these collect a lot of our surface rainwater. These reservoirs now supply 40% of all the water we use on site for watering the plants and we continue to look at other means of increasing this further. We also take an active role in encouraging our customers to recycle water in their gardens by offering for sale a range of water-saving products including water butts, moisture-retaining compost and container gel which can help to reduce watering throughout the season.
We routinely promote the benefits of drought-resistant plants as a green-fingered solution to our ever-changing climate. Many plants which originated from arid environments are well evolved to cope with the challenges of dry conditions and many can positively thrive. Our knowledgeable plant experts are happy to advise you on your choice of plants.
Energy Conservation
We have 723 Solar Panels on the roof providing renewable electricity to the site!
In November 2015 we installed 723 solar panels, which generate around 153,637.50 KWH per annum and this helps to power the garden centre, therefore meaning that we are less reliant on buying electricity from the grid. However, we have also ensured that the electricity that we do buy is all from a renewable source.
We have also converted all of our lights to LEDs throughout the business, which further reduces our energy usage.
As mentioned under our Recycling Initiatives, all of our Food Waste is collected and converted into green energy through the process of anaerobic digestion.
Recycling Initiatives
- We continue to recycle as much as we possibly can, separating as much waste on site as we can and working hard to avoid any waste going to landfill
Our aim is to recycle as much as we possibly can and to continue to reduce the amount that is sent to landfill sites. With the help of our waste management partner, we are very proud to state that we currently do not have any of our waste go to landfill and we separate as much of our waste as we can on site.
Our wood is recycled by either being sent to our local recycling depot, most wooden pallets are returned to our suppliers to re-use and our maintenance team are very creative at recycling wood for displays and building projects!
Our paper is collected and sorted into grades and sent to paper mills to create new paper products, such as newspapers. Our plastic is taken to our plastic baler and once baled, collected and separated into different grades which are reprocessed into pellets which can create new plastic products. Our cardboard is also taken to our cardboard baling machine and once baled, collected and sold for new cardboard manufacture.
Our glass is collected and then separated by size. Small pieces are recycled to make aggregate for road surfacing, larger pieces are organised by colour to be processed for new materials such as mineral wool insulation.
We also recycle as much of our food waste as possible, from The Mulberry Tree restaurant, The Food Hall, our team areas and our children’s day nurseries. The food waste goes into dedicated food bins and is then collected and through a process of anaerobic digestion, is recycled into fertiliser for farming and green energy for homes.
We also have a dedicated battery recycling facility – please bring in your used batteries and place them in the dedicated recycling bin located in in our Customer Services centre. We can then ensure they are responsibly and safely disposed of.
Peat Free
We promote peat free composts, a range that is far better for our environment!
Here at Ruxley Manor, we recognise that the use of peat in growing media has a limited future and the negative impact that peat-based composts have on our environment.
Therefore, we took the decision to stock a far greater selection of peat free alternatives. Helping our customers transition to going peat free will in turn help to conserve precious peat bog habitats and combat climate change for future generations.
If you have any queries about our peat free compost range then please speak to a team member from our Stoneware Department and they will be happy to help.
Forest Stewardship Council
All our suppliers provide us with their FSC Certification – Our timber products have their FSC logo and category clearly displayed on their packaging or labels
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the worlds forests. Every year an area half the size of the UK is cleared of natural forests. Sixty million indigenous people and countless species of plants and animals are wholly dependent on forests to live and forests support up to 1.6 billion of the poorest people in the world.
The FSC system has developed three categories of certified product and the category of every product is clearly identified on its product label:
FSC 100%: all the timber or fibre in the product comes from an FSC-certified forest.
FSC recycled: all the timber or fibre in the product is post-consumer reclaimed material.
FSC mixed sources: the timber or fibre in the product is a mixture of various sources (please see www.fsc-uk.org.uk for further information).
FSC mixed sources: the timber or fibre in the product is a mixture of various sources (please see www.fsc-uk.org.uk for further information).
