07.10.26
Members of the J&B Recycling team swapped the office for the outdoors recently, spending a day volunteering at The Shack Allotment in Ragworth as part of the company’s social value commitments through its contract with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
The team rolled up their sleeves to help with work around the allotment, including planting onions and beetroot, while learning more about the important role the project plays within the local community.
The Shack Allotment is about much more than growing fruit and vegetables. Produce grown on site is sold through the local community grocery store, helping to provide fresh, locally grown food for people living in the area.
The team also had the opportunity to see the allotment’s on-site composting operation, where food and garden waste is composted and returned to the land to support future growing.
For a business working in recycling and resource management, it was particularly encouraging to see circular principles being put into practice on a community scale – turning waste into a useful resource and using it to help grow the next crop of produce.
Delivering social value in the communities we serve
The volunteering day formed part of J&B Recycling’s wider commitment to delivering social value alongside the waste and recycling services it provides.
J&B Recycling works with local authorities and businesses across the North East and believes that its role within those communities should extend beyond the day-to-day delivery of its services.
This includes supporting community organisations, volunteering, creating employment and training opportunities, working with schools and colleges, and helping local initiatives that make a positive difference to the people and places they serve.
Ingrid Brough-Williams, Sales & Marketing Manager at J&B Recycling, who took part in the volunteering day, said:
“Social value is about looking beyond the service we are contracted to deliver and considering how else we can make a positive contribution to the communities we work in.
“The Shack is a fantastic example of a community project that delivers benefits on so many levels. Not only are they growing fresh produce which goes back into the local community, but they’re also composting on site and making good use of resources that might otherwise have gone to waste.
“It was great to get away from our desks, get our hands dirty and contribute to the project – although I think a few of us discovered muscles we didn’t know we had!”
The volunteering day also gave the J&B Recycling team an opportunity to learn more about the people behind The Shack and the work being carried out in Ragworth.
J&B Recycling would like to thank everyone at The Shack for their warm welcome and for giving the team the opportunity to support the project.
The company will continue to work with its local authority partners to identify opportunities to deliver meaningful social value and support communities across the North East.
