These are just some of the measures that we have undertaken to receive our Silver "GTBS" award and our "Putting Dartmoor First" award.

PURCHASING

We have asked all but a few of our suppliers if they have an Environmental Policy in place or any green credentials. We have also asked if they would fill in a “green” questionnaire to see their commitment towards sustainability.

We use toilet paper, dispenser towels; napkins etc that are made from either post-consumer waste paper to that from sustainable managed forests.

 We purchase in bulk environmentally friendly concentrated cleaning chemicals in 5 litre containers that can be diluted with water on site. This saves on extra packaging being used.

M&A Environmental (based in Devon) takes back all empty containers and packaging and reuse/recycle where possible.

Our liquid soaps, shampoo and shower gel are also purchased in 5 litre containers. We then dispense into smaller containers. All the containers supplied from the “Faith In Nature” range are all made from Polyethylene, which is one of the easiest plastics to recycle.

We have changed our black plastic sacks that we use for our swing bins to degradable plastic sacks.  We use compostable bin liners in our letting room bins.

For the past year we have been growing our own small amounts of vegetables. These have just been potatoes and onions that we have used on our menu. We also have an herb garden, which is starting to grow nicely.

We are now the proud owners of an allotment, so lots of hard work to be done there to get ready for planting. We are aiming to increase our homegrown produce.

We try as much as possible to use local produce on our menu. This is one of our main aims at the moment.  We are supplied with fresh Duck and Chicken eggs from a local farmer in South Brent and also from a local Dairy in Dartmouth. The same dairy also supplies us with our whipping cream for our Tea Room cakes

We use Fair Trade Puro fresh coffee beans.  For every kg of Puro coffee espresso beans sold, Puro gives money to buy and protect areas of rainforest in South America.

The coffee tastes great even if we do say so ourselves!

We also buy Fair trade brown sugar and restocking other ingredients with Fair Trade.

 Fair Trade producers are committed to supporting farmers in developing countries to get a fair deal for their crops. Choosing fair trade products helps support local projects, such as better education and healthcare in countries where it is needed most.

USING WATER WISLEY   

We have undergone a water audit with South West Water, as we know that water is a precious commodity especially in Devon!

We have showers that use less than 12 litres of water a minute. By controlling the amount of water that flows through the shower we can reduce site water use.

We have replaced the tap in the men’s toilet to a push down model and reduced water flow in the remaining bathrooms. As running the tap can use up to 20 litres of water a minute – which would give enough for a bath in just 5 minutes!

Our men’s urinals have a water saving device fitted to them. This helps to reduce water usage. With this simple device we have saved over £2000 in the two years since we have had it installed! And that is only in one measure undertaken.

Where toilets haven’t got dual flush we have fitted them with displacement devices. This reduces the water used as many of the older cisterns can use up to 12 litres per a flush. These devices help reduce the water used by 3 litres per flush.

Both our washing machines that we use are A rated and most efficient at saving water use.

The dishwasher in our kitchen and our glass washer behind the bar are the most efficient model on the market today (Nov 2008) at saving water use.

We have a drip irrigation system in place. This helps save water and time when we water our hanging baskets.

We have one water butt in the garden. This reduces the amount of treated water needed for watering the garden.   

We have replaced our Laundry Powder, Dishwasher detergent and Auto Rinse, washing up liquid, bathroom cleaner to either fully biodegradable, Chlorine or Phosphate-free cleaners.

In our letting rooms we use Organic deep sea harvested Seaweed, soap, shower gel, foam bath and shampoo that is a known antioxidant, removing free radicals, and its mineral content is renowned for many skin-healing qualities.

All are Paraben & SLES free; there are no preservatives or colours, is PH balanced and fully biodegradable.

We are also using traditional homemade cleaning products, which are based on natural ingredients rather than petroleum derivatives

We have replaced all our cleaning cloths with colour coded Micro fibre cloths. As these need very little supplementary cleaning chemicals or none at all.

The cloths are washed as apposed to thrown away at the end of the evening, again saving on landfill.  

 SAVING ENERGY

We have replaced all our large kettles with smaller, more efficient kettles in both our kitchen and all letting rooms. This helps us to boil the water that is only needed.

We have changed all but a few of our light bulbs to low energy lighting; this includes the car park light as well. Low energy light bulbs use less than 20% of energy of a conventional bulb and can last up to 15 times longer.

We have installed timers and push button time switches for our lighting in different parts of the building. This has helped lights from being left on unnecessary.

All our radiators in the building have individual heating controls. This allows a much greater control of heating based on customers need. In the bedrooms we have the settings on low. Guests are more than welcome to higher the setting. We feel it is better to be able to increase the temperature then having to open the window to cool the room down.

We have insulated and boarded the roof space in the building. As approximately 20% of a buildings heat is lost through the roof.

Please switch off lights and television standby buttons when you are not in your room. So that C02 emissions are reduced.

We line dry or use our drying room when ever possible and should we have to use the tumble dryer we use Tensile Balls which reduce the drying time by up to 25%.

Our tumble dryer is A rated and has a sensor built in that detects when the washing is dry.

WASTE

We have our Fruit and vegetables delivered in plastic trays. All trays and any packaging are returned to the veg supplier.

Our bottled water is local and comes in glass bottles.  All  glass bottles, jars and containers etc are recycled through our licensed collections operator.

Our sauces and jams are being replaced with glass bottles or serving dishes instead of being packaged individually. This will reduce packaging waste.

The reverse of printed notices are re-used for internal printing purposes or used for scrap paper. Envelopes are re-used where ever possible. 

All cardboard and paper material are recycled and collected from our licensed collections operator.

All plastic bottles and containers (that can be recycled) are first crushed before being recycled.

Milk bottle tops are recycled and used by our local school for pupils with disabilities.

 Textiles, are re-used when ever possible in-house or if not we donate to a local Charity, any unusable textiles are placed in the appropriate recycling facility.

Any Fixtures or Fittings that we no longer need are again given to a local Charity or advertised on “Free-Cycle”.

We compost all our compostable garden and kitchen waste, (peelings, egg shells/boxes, tea bags, coffee grounds, napkins etc) in either our on-site composter or through the council.

We dispose of electronic equipment responsibly either through charity, Free Cycle or inline with WEEE (waste electrical & electronic directive)

All Steel waste is recycled, as it can be recycled almost indefinitely with no loss of quality. The production of Aluminium and Steel has a significant impact on the environment through mineral extraction.