The village hall in Edenham - not far from our head office in Bourne, Lincolnshire - is reducing its carbon footprint and improving hygiene thanks to a donation from the Larkfleet Homes Community Fund.
The fund has given £250 to Edenham Village Hall to help pay for hot air hand dryers in the toilets, allowing the hall to end the use of paper towels.
Now, you may think that electric hand dryers would be something of an environmental disaster, but it turns out that actually they are far 'greener' than paper towels.
They use fewer resources than towels because towels constantly need to be produced and transported to users, and eventually they take up space in landfill. Even when compared with recycled paper towels that are composted (which are better than those made from virgin materials and sent to landfill), air dryers are more eco-friendly. If you are interested, check out the report here for details of research studies.
For the village hall, there are other benefits as well. Pat Smith of the village hall committee said: “This is a much more hygienic system for all our groups using the hall – everyone from the toddler group through to dog training handlers, Edenham school children and the senior citizen Christmas Party.
“And the dryers are always available, unlike paper towels where the dispenser requires refilling on a regular basis. It also saves us a bit of work as we no longer have to deal with ordering the towels and accepting delivery.”
Karl Hick, CEO of The Larkfleet Group of Companies, said: “We were particularly pleased to support this project because of the positive impact on the environment.”
The Larkfleet Homes Community Fund supports groups that enhance or develop local communities. It makes grants to charities or voluntary organisations within ten miles of any housing development by Larkfleet Homes or Allison Homes.
If you want to know more about the Larkfleet Homes Community Fund and how an organisation that you are involved with could get a grant, visit www.tiny.cc/larkfleet-fund.
Our photo shows Pat Smith (left) and Nikki Gunn from Edenham Village Hall with one of the new hand dryers that has been installed at the hall.
