"We need to protect ourselves"

Monday 24 July 2017

From water filtration pumps to an air conditioning system that uses room temperature to power itself, the recently opened Cheffin's at Beaumont has been built with as much thought to the environment as possible - and the manager now hopes others will follow suit to help protect the Island.

Simon Soar, the General Manager, says they are doing their best to minimise the impact of the business on the environment and looking for every way to reduce waste.

He explains: "As much of the building as possible is eco-friendly. Our outside lightning runs on 4Watts as opposed to 40. Our only solid fuel is a bottle of gas and we have a boiler to make sure we always have enough hot water but it is only there as a backup, not something we use regularly."

As in nature "nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything changes", the building even recycles what might sometimes be disregarded, such as excess room temperature or steam coming from the kitchen. The air conditioning is equipped with a heat filtration system which allows it to use the room temperature to power itself. When the room gets warmer than the desired temperature, the system will extract that extra heat and recycle it to power the air conditioning. The air that is pumped out of the building is also filtered to extract any moisture, which is then filtered and reused in the liquid internal system, such as in the toilets.

Pictured: The food at Cheffin's certainly looks yummy, but more impressive is the fact that the kitchen air filtration system recycles steam to feed the mains.

While those systems might prove more expensive than their 'conventional' alternatives, Mr Soar says it was a matter of using foresight. "We have future-proofed the building. When the laws come in to improve the way we run businesses in relation to the environment - because they will - we are already set up. We want to be environmentally friendly and we are very conscious of how much waste we create. There is so much that will last over 100 years before it goes away." 

To minimise even further the impact of Cheffin's on the local environment, Mr Soar explained that the pub and restaurant "work smart".

"We try not to throw too much away in bins. And really, this is something that others should look into as it is the best way to improve profits. We do not create a huge amount of waste and try to reuse as much as possible so we are not adding to the massive pressure on the environment."

Pictured: The straws at Cheffin's are green - in colour and in material.

While Mr Soar has contacted his providers to make sure that the produce they send is not wrapped up in plastic, he has also sourced eco-friendly alternatives for the waste he cannot avoid, such as straws and bottles. The straws at Cheffin's are green - in both their colour and material, which is biodegradable.

He commented: "I have been tracking the global campaign against plastic straws for almost a year. It is something I was really keen on. We looked at reusable alternatives, glass and metal, but we were concerned that they were going to be taken away. Paper straws dissolve too quickly and don't look good. We managed to source biodegradable ones and we could have kept them black but opted for green. It is a talking point, people have been asking about them on social media! There is a £4 difference between a box of 10,000 plastic straws and biodegradable ones, to me it is worth every penny."

As for water bottles, the restaurant has invested in an Eau de Vie water filtration system. The machine - installed close to the kitchen - treats local water and allows for freshly filtered still or sparkling water to be served in specially designed glass bottles that can be reused. Instead of buying several bottles to quench their thirst throughout their dinner, customers are charged only once and offered unlimited refills. "The 100 bottles we have ordered will last us a year, as opposed to hundreds of plastic or glass bottles a week. We are saving money as we don't have to ship hundreds of bottles and we are reducing the carbon footprint," Mr Soar said.

Filtered water systems remove the need to buy, refrigerate & store pre-bottled water- an environmentally friendly alternative! #gogreenweek pic.twitter.com/hx41mvmi3Q

— Eau de Vie (@EaudeVieUK) February 9, 2017

While Mr Soar claims that he introduced these novelties in the restaurant because he was "keen to", he thinks that the government should encourage businesses to operate in an eco-friendly way: "They should find out what businesses are making efforts to look after environment and support them. I am not saying there should be kickbacks, but for example, with the hike on waste disposal, we shouldn't be facing the same prizes as others who don't do as much."

The manager also hopes that others will follow suit. "We are trying to lead the way by showing something different. We are a small island, we need to protect ourselves."