Environmental Policy

At Cowell’s, we believe that we have an essential role in protecting the environment and reducing the impact that our business has on it. We take this responsibility very seriously and actively encourage our customers to try to do the same.

Waste & Recycling

Cowell's reuses product packaging whenever possible. We reuse most cardboard boxes and packaging materials when dispatching customer orders through our webshop. Any excess cardboard is baled on site and sent for recycling. By baling the cardboard on site, a larger quantity can be transported for recycling, reducing carbon emissions. Plastic plant trays are offered to our customers to transport their plants securely at checkouts.

Wooden pallets are returned to suppliers for reuse or offered to our local community for upcycling projects. Newcastle Wood Recycling CIC collects any other surplus wood. A local organisation on a mission to divert wood from the local waste stream through their wood recycling service while creating employment, training and volunteering opportunities for people in the community.

We are now using ‘recycling blue’ pots for our homegrown plants. These pots have been developed to increase sustainability and are manufactured using ‘Closed Loop Recycling’. Closed Loop Recycling is the process by which waste is collected, recycled and purposed to make something new. Effectively, the waste does a full circle without harming the environment.

We are also supporting the Horticultural Trade Association (HTA) led initiative to reduce the volume of non-recyclable black plastic used in the horticultural industry by introducing taupe coloured plant pots. The taupe coloured pots are carbon pigment-free making them widely recyclable through kerbside recycling schemes.

Water Conservation

Water is precious, so we do the best we can to save it. We capture rainwater from the roof of our greenhouse and multi-span polytunnels to reuse in our plant area and nursery.

We water our plants in the morning or evening to ensure that water is used efficiently and not lost to evaporation during the heat of the day.

Our watering and irrigation equipment is kept in the best possible condition to ensure water is not wasted through leaks.

Responsible retailing

We grow a large number of plants in our on-site nursery. This minimises the impact of transportation effects.

Our buyers source the best quality plants available to limit wastage.

Our plant team takes pride in nurturing our plants and ensuring that we sell quality plants to our customers. We are also proactive in offering advice to customers on the care of their plants.

We source plants and products from the UK and local suppliers whenever possible.

We only sell wooden products from reputable companies that source sustainable wood.

We are continually looking for new products to help our customers garden in an environmentally friendly manner.

Peat Policy

We recognise that peat bogs provide a unique habitat for flora and fauna and are important stores of carbon which need to be sustained.

We aim to manage, minimise and eventually eliminate our peat use in a controlled manner to remove it from retail sales by 2024. We will use declining amounts of peat, and we will continue to ensure that it has been extracted with the minimum amount of environmental impact. We will not buy or sell peat extracted from designated conservation areas, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

Our own 'Cowell’s Professional Grade All-Purpose Compost' is produced from the most delicate quality sphagnum moss peat from ecologically managed, licensed peat bogs, not from any SSSIs. The company that produces our product is very aware of environmental concerns and is extremely careful to reconstitute the bogs used so they can naturally regenerate for future generations.

We sell and promote a range of peat-free composts, including our own brand, ‘Cowell’s Peat Free All-Purpose Compost’, and actively encourage our customers to consider them by displaying imformative point of sale information and offering competitive pricing.

All growing media sold by Cowell’s complies with the HTA's Growing Media Initiatives Peat Sourcing Policy. We support the HTA and Garden Centre Association (GCA) involvement in The Growing Media Task Force. The task force is working together to plan for the removal of peat within the industry and campaigning to ensure government support to bring to market new and novel alternative materials, as well helping to unlock the lack of availability of tried and tested alternatives.

 

Updated 11/03/24