Jun 21 2006
One of the best-known consumer garden brands in the UK is now selling recycled woodchip mulch as a direct result of WRAP's (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) campaign to encourage the landscaping industry to use the material on plant beds.
Levington Nature Scapes Constant Colour Mulch has been launched by The Scotts Company and is now being sold in 70 litre bags at Focus DIY stores and many other garden centres.
Scotts began investigating the possibility of marketing a mulch made from recycled woodchip after seeing a piece of direct mail produced by WRAP informing landscapers of the benefits of using the material on plant beds to suppress weeds.
The company decided to move ahead with the product as it discovered recycled woodchip offers several key benefits in terms of durability, visual attractiveness, reducing maintenance and the ability to stick well to steep slopes.
Levington Nature Scapes Constant Colour Mulch is made by combining recycled woodchip - provided by West Bromwich-based wood recycler Giffords - with Scott's exclusive long lasting dyes. The natural dye is based on iron and gives the mulch a rich dark black colour that lasts all year.
Julia Turner, Material Development Manager for wood at WRAP, said: "It's great to see that all the work to promote recycled woodchip as a landscaping surfacing product is having a positive effect, not only with a trade audience but now with a major consumer-facing brand. Recycled woodchip is a highly versatile and effective mulch and this will no doubt be found to be the case as more and more people use the product in their gardens.”
Karen Barber, category manager for growing media at The Scotts Company, said: "Having first learned about the potential of recycled woodchip as a garden mulch we were keen to offer the product to our customers. To date the material has sold well and we anticipate this continuing, particularly as news of its effectiveness spreads by word of mouth among the nation's gardeners.”
Scotts initially ordered 7,500 tonnes of recycled woodchip from Giffords but plan to increase this figure if sales support it.