RECYCLING OF FLORAL TRIBUTES

Since July of this year, Bedford Borough Council has, with the help of the Hertfordshire Probation Trust, recycled old floral tributes retrieved fromNorseRoadCemeteryand Crematorium. The green waste is composted and is used to improve growing conditions in flower beds and borders. Prior to July, the floral tributes were sent to landfill as waste.

Along with many bereavement services throughout the U.K, Bedford Bereavement Services has been concerned for sometime about the amount of waste generated at its cemeteries and crematorium from expiring floral tributes.

Each week, the old floral tributes which were laid at both the crematorium and within the cemetery, are sorted and separated into 'green' and 'plastic' waste. This work is carried out by individuals who have been sentenced by the courts to carry out community payback / unpaid work, who also help with litter picking and flower bed maintenance in the grounds of the Cemetery/Crematorium.

Cllr Sarah-Jayne Holland, Portfolio Holder for Community & Regulatory Services at Bedford Borough Council, said: "It makes sense that, once the flowers have fulfilled their purpose and comforted loved ones, they can go on to replenish the soil from which they came."