Environment Policy

Wharton Lodge Cottages Environment Policy

Introduction

It is the policy of Wharton Lodge Cottages to encourage its employees, guests and contractors to minimise our impact on the environment. We aim to start small but act consistently. Reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink. Here in the fabulous Wye Valley/Herefordshire countryside we encourage guests to get outside: to walk, run, cycle, use public transport or car share.

Energy Saving:

The cottages have been well insulated to minimise the use of fuel
Most of the light bulbs we use are LED, low energy
Heating is on only when guests are in residence

Waste Reduction/Recycling:

There are green wheeled bins in the outhouse available for your glass, paper/card, plastics and tin
We leave you a reusable bag for your shopping whilst you are here
We provide recycled toilet paper for guests
We have a compost heap in the parkland, which the sheep help us to manage and contain
We harvest rainwater from the garage roof and shed roof to water our pot plants

Cleaning:

We use as many environmentally friendly products as possible, from companies such as Ecover and Ecoleaf
Vinegar makes a very good cleaning solution
We use a steamer to clean carpets and upholstery

Fauna and Flora:

Our parkland has many mature, specimen trees with the aim of providing habitats for birds and other creatures. The six main specimen trees are named on their trunks
We have planted shrubs such as Buddleia expressly to attract butterflies, Water Lilies to encourage Dragon Flies. We also have Greater Spotted Newts in the small pond at the side of the Wharton Lodge
We provide bird feeding tables and bird boxes. We offer a home for bats in the eves
There are books and leaflets in the cottages to aid identification of birds
We use flowers from the garden and park to decorate the cottages
Whenever possible we re-plant our Christmas trees to use year-on-year in the cottages

Provisions/Fair Trade:

We encourage guests to walk to the village shop in Lea for provisions. Local produce is available as well as free-range eggs
We use a selection of Fair Trade products
This area is a great area for fruit growing. Fruit juice is provided from a farm and is locally produced in Newent
Guests are welcome to make use of the herbs in the organic herb garden
Guests may like to sample home-produced vegetables. When available they will be in a container by the back door of the Lodge
Freezer meals are from local producers - Moor Meals - are cooked in-house using local produce (please see sample menu in information book).
We have changed from using cakes of soap and small containers of bath foam and body lotion to larger re-fill containers in order to minimise packaging and save waste