Case studies 
Below are some case studies showing what some of our wonderful partners have done to reduce waste and operate their business more environmentally sustainable.
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​Hadland Care Group
  • Stopped using plastic Aprons, gloves, glitter, water bottles, nappy sacs, wet wipes and plastic bags.

  • Reusable nappies Launching a project to move away from disposable one-use nappies to reuseable nappies.
 
  • Toothbrushes Using bamboo toothbrushes rather than plastic ones. 
 
  • Wet wipes Make our own plastic free wet wipes.
 
  • Milk Using glass milk bottle delivered on the door rather than plastic ones from supermarket.
 
  • Cleaning products Changed so we can buy in bulk, dilute and re-use in our spray bottles.
 
  • Buying secondhand from charity shops, tips, scrap stores to provide more open ended, fascinating resources for the children to experiment with –recycling other peoples waste.
 
  • Fruit and Vegetable boxes Reducing plastic packaging and carbon foot prints by having fruit and vegetables delivered package free in boxes from local suppliers.
 
  • Composting We got different types of compost bins so we can compost all our food waste.
 
  • Recycling Paying attention to what people are putting in the bins and recycling things that we can like batteries, crisp packets, pens, biros,  etc.
    
  • Electric cars Moving away from our diesel and petrol people carriers and vans, and replacing with electric. We have 4 electric bikes and are encouraging people to use public transport, bikes, walking or car sharing instead of driving.
 
  • Reducing waste By trying to avoid buying stuff that comes in plastic packaging we have reduced the overall amount of waste we produce.
 
  • Children taught to care for the environment At Tops Day Nurseries children are encouraged to be considerate with their actions by recycling and caring for the environment just as part of everyday play and being in the nursery.



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Velo Domestique Cycle Cafe
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Southbourne
  • Electricity is renewable, we also offset our gas usage so we are classed as a 100% clean energy business, we did this at the start of 2018 using the helpful people at CleanEnergy UK.

  • Catering disposables are biodegradable i.e. takeaway hot and cold cups, takeaway straws, napkins, event plates and cutlery.

  • Reusable takeaway cups encourage the use of reusable takeaway cups, offering 10% off of all takeaway hot drinks if the customer uses a reusable cup. We ran a campaign to encourage people to use their KeepCup takeaway cups by offering them free coffee or tea throughout January. We encourage people not to use lids with their takeaway cups (even though ours are biodegradable).

  • Straws We have been exclusively using metal straws to serve with cold drinks for the past two years, prior to this we did not offer straws.

  • Local Coffe supplier Bad Hand Coffee who deliver their coffee on an Omnium Cargo Bike which we built for them. Their retail coffee bags are 'omnigradable' which is a material which will decompose as soon as it comes into contact with microbes (more efficient than most 'biodegradable' alternatives). Bad hand also deliver wholesale coffee in reusable tubs.

  • Reuse packaging Where possible we offer people the chance to collect and reuse our boxes which we receive bike and part shipments.

  • Local Food We deliberately use local food wholesalers who deliver food with minimal plastic and using reusable packaging/trays.

  • Cargo Bike We use our own cargo bike for all local food collections and deliveries as well as collecting our locally printed apparel and posters/prints. We deliver local apparel orders by bike.

  • We use biodegradable bike cleaning/lubricating products produced locally by Muc-Off often using reusable application bottles and bulk containers of cleaning product to prevent waste

We're still thinking about how we can help people make small changes as well as our own changes to help make a difference as much as possible.


​Terroir Tapas Restaurant

Southbourne

​We’ve taken our own twist: An eco aware global tapas bar with a big nod to doing what we can to eliminate: waste, chemicals, unnecessary carbon trails and all the other challenges the Restaurant & Bar industry face to keep Mother Nature happy.

It’s all about preserving & enhancing what we have on earth.

  • Design We committed to creating a venue with the environment in mind. It’s no easy feat. Our bar top is made from compressed reused coffee cup lids & plastic chopping boards. Our dining tables are compressed yogurt pots. The light boxes in the toilets are a compressed gathering off floating waste from the sea.
 
  • Napkins We have decided to provide washable napkins & hand towels rather than single use paper ones. This reduces waste from packaging & unnecessary processing of the items. All our materials are washed using Ecover laundry liquid.
 
  • Bins We only have two bins. One bin is for the recycling of our high-end wine bottles (most of our wines are on tap). The other bin is for the composting of all of our food waste – everything organic (inc. bones). We are awaiting a composting machine which overnight will turn all our waste into compost, which we hope to donate to our customers & the local allotments. We try our hardest to avoid all other need for bins – no waste destined for landfill or the sea.
 
  • Fuel Our oven is run on sustainably-sourced compressed wood dust. Our charcoal grill is run on Dorset Charcoal – its sustainable & makes food taste amazing.
 
  • Energy supply All of our electrical power is from renewable supplies. (www.havenpower.com). We don’t have gas.
 
  • Grey water All the water from the bar sinks, ice machines, roof gutters, is collected in large tanks in our basement. We use this to flush the toilets. You will see in our toilets that the sink water is also fed directly to the cistern below. The UK is sadly one of the only countries to still use fresh water to flush toilets.
 
  • Aquaponics We have our own growing walls within the restaurant. This way we can grow organically fed herbs, fruits, salads & vegetables. The system is fed by the waste from the fish tanks below. It’s a symbiotic environment where the plants help to keep the water clean for the fish too. Early days with this at the moment so watch this space.
 
  • Wines & Beers We have opted for more draft products for both wines & beers. This way we eliminate bottles created from our biggest selling products. The wines come in kegs and bag in boxes – this will be the future (less breakages, better preservation, cheaper to ship). We even reuse the plastic parts of the bag in box wines to seal & infuse elements of our menu.
 
  • Cleaning products Besides using Ecover, we also have an electrolyzed water system, which we use for our sanitizer, degreaser & washing machines. This simple and waste free mixture of minerals and tap water make this the most environmentally friendly and sustainable system on the market today. Sustainability goes well beyond Green.
 
  • Food We have committed to always having 60% of our menu as vegetarian – its also vegan in many dishes. We source ingredients without unnecessary packaging & always ensure the quality is excellent & are all produced ethically & sustainably. We are striving to avoid all products that even come in recyclable packaging – next on the cards is recreating coconut milk using freshly rolled organic local oats & gorse flowers.
 
  • Deliveries We refuse all deliveries of food & drink in packaging. All our meat & fish is delivered in our black washable boxes meaning no single use plastic bags or polystyrene is needed. We use the fruit & vegetable shop a few doors along, only buying the products without packaging.

  • Water We don’t serve bottled water. Instead we offer free tap water or Belu filtered still & sparkling water. We charge £1 for the filtered water, which goes directly to water aid (https://www.wateraid.org/uk/). So less unnecessary packaging & a vital source of funds to those without water




Live Kindly 
ECO SHOP
​This little shop is the perfect way for us to incorporate everything we believe in, whilst spreading the word about reusable alternatives and zero waste products, and at the same time not adding to the global plastic problem.
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  • ​Vegan we are passionate about our vegan lifestyle, vegan food and products. So all the products we sell are vegan.
 
  • Zero Waste we are stocking zero waste shampoo bars, shaving bars, body butters bars, reusable cleansing / make up pads and refills, reusable sanitary products, naked cards with eco glitter, vegan chocolate with biodegradable packaging to name just a few!
 
  • Cruelty Free Everything we are stocking we use ourselves and each product is vegan and cruelty free.
 
  • Recyclable or biodegradable All our packaging is recyclable or biodegradable, such as plastic free tape.
 
  • Recycling packaging that we have received used at home or that friends and family have saved for us.  
 
  • Bike deliveries Any local delivery is done by bike via Velo Domestique's Cargo Bike Service