At Fairways, we take our responsibility towards caring for the environment very seriously. We are passionate about protecting the natural environment and about working with our customers to make our business, and gardening generally, more sustainable.

How we recycle & minimise waste

Plastic:

• We have introduced a plastic plant pot, plant tray and compost bag recycling service for customers
• We work with plant suppliers who use recyclable pots to grow their plants
• Our customer carrier bags are biodegradable and cost 25p. We also offer a Bag for Life
• Our plastic packaging and general waste is collected by a local waste management company that sort and recycle as much as possible
• Plastic plant pots are also sent for recycling
• We use paper straws in our cafes
• Our greetings cards are wrap free
• We have extended our range of eco propagation products
• We no longer sell ready to use feeds – as the concentrates are easy to use and use less plastic

Cardboard:

• Cardboard boxes are recycled by offering to customers at the tills, to package plants
• All additional cardboard is crushed, palletised and sent for recycling

Other Materials:

• Pallets, which many of our goods arrive on, go back to be reused wherever possible
• Most of our plants arrive on ‘Danish’ trollies, which are reused throughout the garden centre network
• We actively encourage customers to make more sustainable purchases

How we save electricity, water & fuel

• We use solar panels at our Ashbourne store, which helps reduce our reliance on non-renewable energy. We have plans to install these at our Matlock store once refurbishment is complete
• We have converted our light fittings to LED to reduce our energy usage
• We make use of water butts throughout the plant area whenever possible

How we source our products and food

• We source as many plants as we can from British nurseries and suppliers – and locally wherever possible
• We avoid selling low quality products that will end up in landfill
• Many of our Garden Furniture suppliers are part of the Made Aware scheme, which aims to improve the environmental and social impacts of the products they sell
• We buy products in bulk to reduce the number of deliveries
• We actively look for new products to help our customers recycle and garden organically
• We use local ingredients as much as we can – including meat, vegetables and bread
• We only sell wooden products from reputable companies that source sustainable wood
• Many of our products carry the Forest Stewardship Council logo. This guarantees the wood has come from forests managed with consideration for people, wildlife and the environment, and that the trees harvested are replaced or allowed to regenerate naturally
• We sell a range of composts, and most are now peat free. We actively encourage customers in store to purchase peat free through displays and promotions

How we maintain our plant health

• We only work with reputable suppliers from across the UK and Europe, who comply with all plant health legislation
• We comply with the new Plant Passporting legislation
• Our skilled teams constantly monitor stock for pests and diseases

How we encourage biodiversity

• We love to encourage our customers to attract wildlife to their gardens through instore hints and tips, and our creative displays
• At Ashbourne our surrounding fields, hedges and ponds support a wide range of wildlife. Pheasants, rabbits and foxes are a regular sighting, alongside a wide range of birds, frogs and toads

How we support our community

• We employ over 100 people from our local areas
• We regularly donate raffle prizes to charities, clubs and schools
• We love donating plants and equipment to schools to encourage young people to get into gardening

We share the public concern to reduce peat use in order to minimise the effect of global peat extraction on peat bog habitats. We are committed to providing:

• Information so that our customers can make informed decisions
• A range of high quality growing medium fit for all purposes and meeting government guidelines
• Growing medium supplied by reputable and responsible companies