Environmental Policy

Fifty odd years ago, we all took for granted our wonderful planet and thought it was safe from our excesses. We now know that this attitude is a recipe for disaster and we must all do whatever we can to protect the environment for future generations. In our quest to achieve this goal we have over the years implemented various systems. Our greenhouses are all monitored by a computer to control temperatures and so make efficient use of energy. We also use biological pest control wherever possible so minimising the use of chemicals. Our carrier bags and bootliners are biodegradable and we recycle all we can. Our program for the future includes water harvesting, the recycling of customers plastic pots and trays and the use of biodegradable pots for our home growing.

It is the policy of the Directors of Aylett Nurseries Limited to protect the environment through sound practices that reduce waste and minimise risk to the environment. This policy applies to all areas of our business.

To meet the objectives of this policy, Aylett Nurseries Limited is committed to:

Developing a culture in which the protection of the environment is encouraged by greater awareness, understanding and management of environmental issues.
Complying with all applicable environmental legislation and other requirements to which our Company subscribes.
Undertaking measures to prevent and reduce pollution.
Undertaking a regular review of all its activities with a view to achieving continual improvement in its performance.
Minimising its environmental impact and aiming to enhance the quality of the environment.
Providing appropriate environmental training for all members of staff.

Aylett Nurseries expects all employees to conduct their duties in accordance with this Policy.

Date: 27th November 2006, updated July 2011, Reviewed: September 2017, March 2021

Peat Sourcing and Reduction Policy

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Waste Packaging

To endorse our commitment to recycling we would like to draw attention to the Regulations that came into effect on the 1st of July 2007 about waste electrical items, and the Producer Responsibility (Packaging) regulations 2008 (as amended).

Encouraging Wildlife

Animals and insects have been losing their natural homes over the years, as woodlands, hedgerows, fields, marshes and ponds have been destroyed to make way for housing and roads. Our gardens have therefore become increasingly important havens for wildlife. By gardening sympathetically for wildlife, not only will visiting wildlife be rewarded, you will too, create a truly natural outdoor space where you can re-connect with nature and enjoy seeing the plants, animals and birds that make their home there. Wildlife needs four things if it’s to thrive in your garden – food, water, shelter and a place to breed.

Here’s how we can help you, to help wildlife;

Our team are always on hand to advise you on how you can attract more wildlife to your garden, instore or by e-mail or telephone.
We ensure that our plant and seed selection includes nectar and pollen rich plants throughout the seasons.
Our range of wildlife feeds and products are selected with upmost care and will provide wildlife and insects visiting your garden with the best nutrition and shelter.
We encourage you to choose plants that will provide forage for a wide range of pollinating insects and wildlife. Look out for the RHS Plants for Pollinators logo on plants to easily identify nectar and pollen rich plants.

We take part, and encourage our customers to take part, in national campaigns such as the Big Butterfly Count, RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch, National Nest Box Week and Hozelock Plant a Pot campaign highlighting the importance of attracting beneficial insects and wildlife in to our outdoor spaces.
The RSPB, National Trust, Local Bee Keepers, Woodland Trust and The Wildlife Trusts visit the garden centre for events and information days, highlighting the importance protecting our surroundings and animal habitats.

See our leaflet ‘Attracting Wildlife to your Garden‘ for further information.

Packaging

At Aylett Nurseries we always strive to keep packaging to an absolute minimum and source products from suppliers that are as environmentally conscious as we are, currently;

We actively encourage our customers to bring their own carrier bags.
We offer biodegradable carrier bags (please see below for further details)
Cardboard boxes and plastic plant trays from our supplier deliveries are kept and offered to our customers to reuse.
Pallet shrink wrap from incoming deliveries is bailed and recycled, as is any cardboard packaging.
Many of our greeting’s cards are now supplied without a plastic sleeve.
The bag containing our own brand sweets are made from wood pulp and are completely plastic free and certified Home Compostable!
Our own grown crops are grown in blue Teku pots which are made from 100% recyclable plastic and can be recycled in domestic kerbside collections in the St Albans district. Blue Teku Pots are made from 100% recycled, post-consumer plastic, from domestic kerbside collections and are 100% recyclable in the St. Albans District.
Most of our bedding plants are now sold in recyclable plastic trays rather that polystyrene.

Carrier Bag Charges & Alternative Packaging

In 2015 larger retailers introduced a 5p charge for single use plastic carrier bags. The Government rolled this out to all businesses on 21^st May 2021 so that by law a minimum of 10p must be charged for every single use carrier bag. To date a whopping £180 million has been generated for good causes with the top seven key retailers reducing their usage by billions of bags.

What Aylett Nurseries is doing:

We believe the stats speak for themselves and we are keen to keep the good work going. All the proceeds of our bag charges go to charity, but we believe we should be reducing all plastic carrier bag usage across our site, whether at the tills, deliveries or collections. For example, we offer free recyclable paper bags at the tills, recyclable cardboard boxes, plastic plant trays or our own branded tape for those customers who do not want a bag.

How you can help:

We hope you will join us in reducing our bag usage and we would love you to bring your own re-usable bags from home.

Responsible Sourcing

We are passionate about protecting our planet by conducting our business using the best sustainable practices available, minimising our carbon footprint and our effect on our environment. We strive to use suppliers and tradespeople that share our mindset.

We locally source as many products as possible to reduce our impact on the environment and support local businesses.
Our main timber garden product suppliers source timber from forests meeting the highest environmental standards.
We take plant health very seriously, regularly inspecting our own crops and those that arrive from other Nurseries. We are also regularly inspected by the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA), a DEFRA agency, to ensure that our plants are pest free. You will notice that most of our outdoor and indoor plants and dry bulbs carry a plant passport on the pot or label. Plant Passporting ensures full traceability from initial producer right the way through the supply chain to the final retailer, enhancing the biosecurity of plants and trees by protecting the environment from harmful pest and diseases. Plant passporting is part of a wider set of regulations called Smarter Rules for Safer Food, you can read about the whole package on the UK Government’s webpage. The records of all plant passports received are kept for at least three years. As a grower ourselves we are also registered as part of this legislation as a Professional Operator.
We are dedicated to reducing our own carbon foot print by growing a large selection of our plants on our nursery. These include our Dahlia’s, Cyclamen, Geraniums, Fuchsias, Poinsettias, Primroses and Polyanthus. We are conscious of the need to reduce plant and food miles and source British grown plants and encourage our customers to grow their own produce.

The range of environmentally friendly products stocked in our garden chemical section is steadily growing, both in number and demand. This includes organic and natural based bug killers, plant feed, snail & slug control and weed killers, the majority of which are child and pet safe.
Our garden furniture collection includes ranges made from recycled fishing net and cushions made from yarn spun from recycled bottles.
Our range includes Husk plastic free pots made from agricultural waste and biodegradable resin.
Our range of Hug Rugs are made from recycled PET plastic bottles.
We avoid purchasing and supplying low quality and single use products which are more likely to end up in landfill.
Our comprehensive range of growing medium includes peat free, organic and carbon neutral options.
We have a Peat Sourcing and Reduction Policy in place to ensure that the peat used in our growing media products causes the minimum environmental impact.

Recycling

Reduce – Re-Use – Recycle

At Aylett Nurseries we are fortunate to have a compactor which bales our waste into pallet sized loads. These bales are stored on-site until we have a lorry load (24 pallets), the load is then collected by commercial recycling experts who responsibly recycle the material.

Annually we recycled: (Figures based on average yearly recycling collections)

26 Tonnes of Cardboard & Paper

This included: All cardboard packaging & boxes that can’t be re-used by our customers are crushed, baled & sent for recycling. Non-confidential office waste.

9 Tonnes of Plastic

This includes; plant pots and trays from our nursery, pallet/delivery shrink wrap, compost bags , netting and plastic cups.

2 Tonnes of Glass

This includes; Glass bottle waste from Seasons Café and unsalvageable glass from our nursery greenhouses.

We also...

Recycle our green waste.
Responsibility recycle wood, metal, batteries, electrical waste and electronic equipment, and light bulbs.
Have a recycling point for customers to bring back their unwanted plastic plant pots and trays – customers are very welcome to take pots and trays for use at home, any remaining are crushed, bailed and recycled with our nursery waste.

Welcome customers to bring back alkaline batteries to us for recycling, we have a collection bucket at our main till points.
Our confidential waste is destroyed (in line with GDPR regulations) on-site by ReStore Datashred. The shredded paper is baled then sent for onward recycling back into paper-based products.
Recycle ink cartridges and toners used at the garden centre.

Water & Energy Use

It will come as no surprise that water and electricity are essential requirement to the running of our business. Water is used to heat our greenhouses and water our plants, whilst electricity is used in all parts of our nursery and retail areas. It is therefore crucial that we monitor and evaluation our water and energy usage to ensure that it is used in the most efficient way possible;

Our greenhouses and buildings are all monitored electronically to control temperatures and so make efficient use of energy.
Our water consumption is similarly monitored daily using automatic meter readers. We monitor hosepipes and equipment for leaks to reduce any water loss this way.
Rainwater is harvested and used to water plants in our houseplant department. Our onsite borehole supplies water that is used on our crops.
Drip irrigation and capillary matting are used in the nursery to reduce our water usage, the plant area is watered during the evenings and early mornings to reduce evaporation.

We have 465 solar panels installed at the garden centre; these provide over 30% of our annual electricity.
We have 6 electric car charging bays at the garden centre, these are accessible 24/7 for customers and passers-by to use.
99% of our fluorescent lights have been replaced with LEDs resulting in a 30 tonne carbon footprint reduction per annum.
We actively encourage our customers to conserve rain water by discussing the topic instore in person and through our displays, and via social media and e-newsletters.

Peat Sourcing & Reduction Policy

It is the policy of the Directors of Aylett Nurseries Limited to ensure that the peat used in UK growing media products causes the minimum environmental impact. To achieve this all bagged growing media is sourced from suppliers who are members of the Growing Media Association (GMA)

Aylett Nurseries Ltd is committed to ongoing improvements in peat reduction. This year our own home grown production will be grown in a 40% reduced peat compost, and we will continue to trial other options reducing our own usage of peat.

Amateur gardeners use 66 per cent of the total peat used in Horticulture in the UK, most of it in growing media such as multi-purpose compost and growing bags. We continue to source the best peat free growing mediums available and have increased our range to offer ericaceous compost and vegetable planters, in addition to multipurpose and multipurpose plus John Innes options.

Alongside the bags of growing media that we sell, we will :

have the associated point of sale clearly marked so the consumer can see the peat content of the product they are purchasing. Look out for our Peat-o-Meter.
provide information so that consumers improve their knowledge of peat alternatives, look out for the Responsible Sourcing logo.
ensure that our peat-free and peat reduced products at the same price as peat based mixes.

It is also acknowledged that further evidence is required to demonstrate the environmental credentials of alternative products such as bark, coir, processed wood, composted green material, vermiculite, etc. to ensure that peat replacement brings about genuine and worthwhile environmental benefits. This comes under the auspices of The Responsible Sourcing Scheme. This is an industry lead scheme to provide a framework that allows manufacturers to rate the environmental impact of all the materials used in growing media against the same 7 criteria for each raw material that make up more that 5% of the product.

The seven criteria are: Energy use, Water use, Social Compliance, Habitat, Pollution, Renewability, and resource use efficiency.

Look out for the logo and QR code on the compost bag so you can see how responsibly sourced a product is. A is the most environmentally and socially responsible on a scale of A to E, or visit responsiblesourcing.org.uk for more information.

Click below to read Our Peat Free Journey so far…

Electrical Equipment & Waste

To endorse our commitment to recycling we would like to draw attention to the regulations that came into effect on the 1st of July 2007.

WEEE is Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment which is the fastest growing waste stream in the U.K, growing by at least 5% each year. From the 1st of July 2007 recycling has never been easier, so if you need to dispose of any old electrical gardening equipment visit www.recycle-more.co.uk or www.wasteaware.org.uk/wrc.cfm for advice and to locate your nearest recycling facility.

We, at Aylett Nurseries, responsibility recycle all electrical waste and electronic equipment, light bulbs and batteries.

Waste Packaging

To further endorse our commitment to recycling we would also like to draw your attention to the regulations that have come into effect with regards to packaging waste. Producer Responsibility (Packaging waste) Regulations 2005.

Benefits of Plants & Gardening

Plants are crucial to our existence by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. Other benefits include stabilising soil, providing wildlife habitats and creating shade.

Indoor Plants

Some house plants are scientifically proven to have powerful air-purifying effects, below is a selection of some of the most popular plants in this category:

Aglaonema – Chinese Evergreen
Calathea
Chlorophytum – Spider Plant
Dracaena
Dypsis Lutescens -Areca Palm
Hedra Helix – Ivy
Nephrolepis Exaltata – Sword Fern
Phlebodium – Blue Star Fern
Sansevieria – Mother in Laws tongue or Snake Plant
Spathiphyllum – Peace lily

See our ‘Houseplants – a breath of fresh air in our homes’ blog here for further information.

Garden Plants

A garden can be used for all types of plantings; a wildflower meadow for beauty and pollinating insects, neatly maintained borders full of shrubs and perennials for year round colour and interest, a ‘grow your own’ vegetable patch full of nutrients and flavour, fruit trees and bushes for sweet summer favourites, or aromatic herbs for cooking and health. The possibilities are enormous and once you understand your soil type and position of your garden you can really utilise your outdoor space to grow a successful garden that suits your lifestyle.

Gardening & Health

The effect of gardening to our health is broad and diverse, being both physically and mentally beneficial. It is because of the benefit it brings to our complete ‘being’ that gardening does in fact contribute something positive to everyone at almost any age.

Physical Benefits – studies show that prolonged light gardening can burn more calories than a gym session. Despite feeling much easier to do, it is the length of time spent gardening combined with the steady burn of calories can reward one with increased stamina and contribute to weight loss.

Also, gardening is energetic and relaxing at the same time and as a hobby it is linked to long term reductions in overall reported health problems.

For the elderly, it is a great source of physical activity, helping maintain a sense of identity and independence as well as maintenance of good gait and balance which helps to prevent falls.

Children benefit from school gardening, and studies reveal that their fruit and vegetable intake increase with their broader knowledge from growing food. Positive results in children’s sense of well-being, personal achievement and pride, especially among those with learning difficulties where a non-academic task is enjoyed.

Overall, most people would find a decrease in blood pressure, improved mood and self esteem when enjoying regular gardening as part of their healthy lifestyle and this in turn has a significantly positive effect on mental wellbeing.

Mental Health Benefits – Gardening will always benefit even the most chilled out among us. The chemical release in our brains of Serotonin gives us a sense of wellbeing and happiness. Consistent Serotonin release is linked with exercise, like gardening, done at a comfortable and steady pace. And we can all enjoy a boost of Serotonin by getting out into natural daylight.

Gardening is considered as a general stress reliever for most of us as we deal with the day to day stresses of normal life, but there are others who tap into the healing effects of regular gardening. It is widely recognised as therapeutic for those suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health issues.

Gardening benefits people suffering with anxiety and depression. Research shows that gardening is a way to engage with nature through wilderness therapy, horticultural therapy and urban green spaces. This time spent gardening is associated with increased emotion regulation, decreased neutral activity and as a result, decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression. Leading on from this, gardening is a perfect way to practice Mindfulness.

Mindfulness – stems from Eastern Buddhist traditions and practices. Essentially, to focus the mind on the present without judgement. There is a calmness when gardening as we become all consumed with the task, this is called ‘Flow’ – describing a state of mind when completely absorbed in an activity. Mindfulness allows us to reconnect with our surroundings, to appreciate them and to understand ourselves better. This is why Mindfulness is an essential healing tool for anxiety and depression.

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