CUSTOMERS at Sainsbury’s Ely have helped the superstore achieve its 20x20 sustainability target of diverting all its waste from landfill.

Sainsbury’s Ely manager Alex Bettison said: “Our recycling facilities are used every day by our customers and it’s great that they’re helping us to reduce our impact on the environment and send no waste to landfill”.

One of the star recycling initiatives set up at Sainsbury’s Ely is its floral donation partner scheme.

Since May, Sainsbury’s has been donating surplus flowers and plants to the residents of Bell Holt, a retirement and sheltered accommodation centre opposite to the Lisle Lane Store.

Donations include bunches of cut flowers, pot plants and other floral products which are unsellable to customers. Residents at Bell Holt then use the donations to brighten up both communal areas and their homes.

Surplus floral supplies are delivered to residents several times throughout the week. Other areas which have helped the store achieve its ‘no waste to landfill’ target include donating waste bakery products, unsuitable for charity, to animal sanctuaries, while food waste is turned into energy through anaerobic digestion, which is the most efficient method of generating energy from waste.