Ridan - 2

A classic 16th century manor house on the South coast offering exceptional hospitality to all.

  • Hotel size – 13 bedrooms
  • Restaurant/Bar size, up 70 covers
  • Ridan installed in – May 2011
  • The annual running cost (wood pellets) – £2.50 per week average

How much food waste composted every week – This varies on the season and activity at the hotel, generally in the summer it’s about 350-400ltrs/week dropping to about 100ltrs in winter.

How much compost produced each year– about 3000ltrs

Waste collection / disposal amount and associated cost saving – by using the Ridan and compacting cardboard we have kept our landfill waste to a maximum of 600ltrs/week. We have saved £10.50/week on the cost of a second bin.

How much have you saved in buying compost each year – We to date used the compost on our flower beds and we are just starting to grow vegetables. It’s difficult to monetise this, as we probably would not have purchased compost. But the result is we get many compliments on our gardens which helps set the atmosphere and therefore the appeal of the Manor.

‘I decided on start up to install a composter, primarily because of the issue surrounding food waste, and the ability of disposal at source, rather than storage awaiting collection was a very important factor. Minimizing the amount of landfill waste and reducing the number of waste bins to a minimum was my primary aim. Having been a keen gardener for years, the thought of re-cycling and generating compost with a view to growing vegetables was a very appealing side advantage to this strategy.

Now with the inevitable legislation round the corner concerning disposal of food waste at commercial sites I feel very good that we’ve been doing this for years and proved it’s not at all difficult. The feeling of full recycling, glass, cardboard and food waste is very satisfying and sits well in the community.

After 5 years, I still believe the Ridan was the best choice for us, the 400ltr/week capacity is just about right for our size of operation, it does not use electricity for heating and works well but must be turned on daily basis providing some heathy exercise.

We have installed a simple lean to cover over the Ridan, primarily to provide some respite from the weather for staff attending the composter.’ David Allen.