Green Hop Pocket
Biomass boiler:
In 2012 we replaced four oil fired central heating boilers with a large wood chip boiler, all of the shopping areas are kept warm and toasty by wood fuel that comes from a small family company in Leominster, about 18 miles away.
Rooftop solar panels
In 2012 and 2013 we installed photo voltaic panels on all of the viable roofs, some needed a little strengthening. Since then, between 5% and 10% of our power has been renewable, you can see some of them from the car park.
Recycling
We have for a long time been active recyclers. We are unconvinced that throwing all of our recyclables into one bin in the hope that it can be separated somewhere else is a great idea. So instead, we separate our cardboard and plastics which we bale to be collected by a firm from Pixley, about 7 miles away. Our pallets are collected to be repaired if necessary and then reused. Our scrap metals are collected by a local dealer. Anything we can separate and recycle we do; this has reduced the amount of large waste bins on site from 20 to 5.
Field mounted solar panels
We are now greener than ever. We have installed an acre of photo voltaic panels along with some batteries to provide most of the power for the entire site. We generate enough electricity to power over 160 homes, and almost all of it is used at The Hop Pocket.
