Green Up Farm has embedded sustainability into its operations from the start. How does your approach to indoor hydroponic farming align with the principles of the circular economy?
Sustainability and environmental concerns have been central to our operational decisions from the beginning. Our return and reuse scheme for all plastic trays has allowed us to close the loop on single-use plastics. The principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle have been applied throughout our business, and we're very proud that we have the opportunity to donate all our organic waste to a local community garden, which helps nature to thrive.
Your return and reuse scheme for plastic trays, boxes, and crates is a great example of circularity. What inspired this initiative, and how has it contributed to waste reduction in your supply chain?
When we launched Green Up Farm, we carefully considered the best way to deliver our produce to customers. We wanted to avoid introducing more single-use plastics for both financial and environmental reasons.
We introduced a return & reuse scheme, and although we were concerned about adoption, the hospitality sector has just embraced it. With ongoing financial challenges, new waste legislation, and rising costs, we're proud our scheme can help our customers, albeit in a small way, to mitigate these costs.
How does hydroponic vertical farming help minimize resource waste compared to traditional agricultural methods, and what efficiencies have you been able to achieve?
Indoor Hydroponic Vertical Farming offers a significant advantage in minimising waste. Environmentally, it allows us to grow and nurture crops using significantly less land and water. By cultivating indoors, we leave more land untouched, which aids in restoring biodiversity and reversing soil degradation.
We also use coco coir, a byproduct of the coconut processing industry, as an environmentally friendly substitute for peat and soil. By farming indoors we are protected from the elements, enabling us to produce healthy crops all year round.
With the upcoming launch of the TyfuClir Grow Tray, how does this product contribute to a more circular food production system for both commercial and home growers?
The TyfuClir grow tray was born out of the need to replace our non-recyclable black growing trays. As our business expanded, we faced the risk of these trays not being returned, potentially leading to them ending up in landfill.
After months of research into various plastic materials, we found rPET plastic to be the most suitable for our requirements. We invested in bespoke tooling to create a uniquely designed tray that ensures crop health and is robust enough for multiple reuses.
We believe this tray would be ideal for other commercial growers of living produce, enabling them to implement their own return and reuse scheme. This would not only positively impact the environment but also save costs for their businesses.
The tray is also perfect for home growers, who can reuse it many times and, when finished, donate it to friends, schools, or community growing projects. Furthermore, the material is 100% recyclable and highly sought after by recycling infrastructure in the UK.
What steps has Green Up Farm taken to ensure that waste from your farming operations is repurposed or reintegrated into the system rather than discarded?
Our farming operations produce organic waste, in addition to other waste streams. As we retrieve used living trays after each delivery, we also collect organic waste.
All of our organic waste is donated to a local community garden for composting purposes. The gardeners told us that it has significantly improved the quality of their soil.
Collaboration is key in a circular economy. How do you work with restaurants and hospitality businesses to create a closed-loop system for packaging and product use?
Our customer relationships are essential to us as a business. Each week, we personally deliver to our customers, taking the time to build of these relationships.
When new customers join us, we schedule an initial meeting to discuss their needs and explain how we operate. This approach has proven effective in building a loyal customer base founded on mutual trust. We address concerns about plastic waste and ensure the entire team is committed from the beginning. Our partners in the hospitality sector have been outstanding in adopting this challenge, helping us create a closed-loop system for plastic and organic waste.
What challenges have you faced in implementing circular economy principles within your business, and how have you overcome them?
We continue to face challenges, but we welcome the opportunity to innovate. One of the most surprising challenges has been the lack of clear guidance on how businesses can implement circular economy principles, especially regarding plastic packaging, its lifecycle, and general recycling practices. It seems that much of the information available online and from packaging suppliers is misleading or simply "green washing."
Looking ahead, how do you see Green Up Farm further advancing circular economy practices, and what impact do you hope to make on the wider food industry?
If we can inspire food producers to critically evaluate their packaging choices, question whether improvements are possible, and thoroughly investigate the information provided by their plastic suppliers, then we feel we have made a difference. We will continue to face challenges and take the time to seek new ways of doing things which will not only grow our business but made a positive impact on our environment.
Your background in media, tech, and hospitality is quite different from farming. How have your past experiences helped you build a business that embraces circular economy principles, such as waste reduction and resource efficiency?
Driven by our personal passion for the environment, we've actively adjusted our lifestyles to minimise our impact. Our professional backgrounds have equipped us with the skills to establish our business and helped us to identify key areas where we could improve our environmental practices.
Initially unfamiliar with the term "circular economy," we soon discovered that our commitment to ethical practices naturally aligned with its core principles.
As self-taught growers, what challenges did you face in implementing sustainable and circular practices from the start, and how have you ensured that your business contributes to a closed-loop food system?
Being self-taught growers has been a real advantage. Without a set roadmap, traditional guidelines, or limitations, we've been free to pursue our passion, deepen our cultivation knowledge, and make business decisions that allow us to contribute to a closed-loop food system—even when others say it’s too challenging.