Following on from the work being carried out by the late Brian Keep and the team at SW Middlesex crematorium, a national scheme for recycling plastic from floral tributes has been launched.

Download the newsletter February 2011 containing reports on financial and environmental savings and details of how to get involved. Note that two members have assisted with social and employment through the scheme.

Innovation by the London Borough of Richmond, The Garden Gang and Green Power Recycling Services
The Garden Gang/Green Power is a training centre for and employer of people with learning disabilities, situated in Richmond, West London, that has provided containers in which Mortlake crematorium  place all of their redundant floral tributes. They  collect the containers and break the tributes down for recycling on its premises. Agriplass collects the plastics directly from The Garden Gang/Green Power.
The current benefits are:
The Garden Gang/Green Power has a new income source that enables it to employ more people with learning disabilities and improve its training facilities. Mortlake pays the Garden Gang/Green Power to collect its tributes therefore at present it pays no more for waste disposal.
The future benefits might be:
If more cemeteries and crematoria in the area join with the Garden Gang/Green Power its income will increase and the costs to participants should decrease. Agriplass will also only be required to make one collection instead of visiting many cemeteries and crematoria which might also reduce costs and fuel usage.

If you are in the West London area contact the Garden Gang/Green Power (or Mortlake Crematorium) and help this initiative to suceed. The Garden Gang’s flyer can be downloaded here.