Shelley Harrison, a team leader from Haskins Garden Centre, Snowhill, is encouraging change in the industry by presenting a compelling scheme to encourage increased hot bin composting, to the Garden Centre Association. She is calling for increased engagement with the sustainable gardening initiative, as part of a wider mission to put sustainability at the forefront of gardeners’ minds.
Shelley, who has worked at Haskins for three years, has introduced hot composting bins to the branch for the first time as part of the GCA competition. Through curating and deploying an in-store campaign, Shelley has engaged with customers to encourage the adoption of this sustainable composting method.
Discussing the scheme, Shelley said: “My entry for the GCA competition focuses on the benefits of utilising hot composting bins over traditional cold composting, or ready-made products. As the temperature cools in the autumn and winter, there is no better time to begin composting with a hot bin. When managed properly, hot bins can generate a composting heap in 30-90 days, compared to the 12-24 months cold composting requires.”
With the UK Government targeting 2030 as a deadline to prevent any food waste from being sent to landfill, gardeners creating composting areas quickly and conveniently within their outdoor spaces will become increasingly important. A passionate gardener, Shelley will use her presentation to the GCA to highlight the positive impact hot composting can have on the environment and demonstrate how garden centres can effectively market and sell the products.
Among the additional positives, Shelley highlights: “Hot bins not only generate compost at a faster rate but they also produce natural liquid feed, useable as an alternative to chemical products in your garden, allowing gardeners to take further steps towards becoming more sustainable.”
The Haskins team leader has also generated social media content on TikTok to educate a wider audience on the benefits of hot bin composting, with her content amassing over 8,000 views combined.
Shelley highlighted the values of hot bin composting and the messaging she has provided to customers, to the Chair of the Garden Centre Association on the 31st of October. She has now successfully progressed to the final five, and will present her learnings at the annual GCA awards in the Cotswolds in January. The best scheme presented will be voted for and recognised as part of the awards ceremony.
Shelley added: “I hope that this project will demonstrate the value hot bin composting provides gardeners and encourages other centres both in the Haskins group and more broadly to offer these products to their customer base.
“This project has been a great opportunity for me to develop my confidence in presenting and grow my knowledge of how the products we sell at Haskins can have a hugely beneficial impact on our customers and the wider environment. I can’t wait to present my findings and discuss this project with customers at Snowhill in the coming weeks.”
Sustainability is a core value for Haskins, with the Snowhill Centre implementing a number of solutions to minimise the environmental impact of the site. These methods include rainwater harvesting and the maintenance of mature trees along the site boundaries to support the continuity of biodiversity in proximity to the centre.
For more information on Haskins Garden Centres and the huge variety of plants and gardening advice available, please visit: www.haskins.co.uk. Alternatively, you can follow @HaskinsGarden on X and @HaskinsGardenCentres on Facebook to share any garden-related queries and keep up to date with all the latest news.
