Recycling Floral Tributes
Since July of this year, Bedford Borough
Council has, with the help of the Hertfordshire Probation Trust,
recycled old floral tributes retrieved from Norse Road Cemetery and
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.”