Centre of green action
Sutton’s
Times Square Shopping Centre has become one of Britain’s first Green
Heroes.The award was made by the Green Organisation, an independent
international environment group dedicated to recognising, rewarding and
promoting environmental best practice around the world.The new accolade
comes just six months after Times Square was awarded a Green Apple
Environment Award for highlighting the benefits of recycling empty
toner and printer cartridges and unwanted mobiles.Its winning entry has
now been published in the Green Book, the only global work of reference
on environmental best practice, to enable other companies, councils and
communities around the world to benefit from the centre’s experience
and success.To mark Times Square’s commitment to helping others it has
been awarded an inscribed Green Heroes plaque.”Statistics show that out
of 30million printer cartridges disposed of each year only five per
cent are recycled and that dumped cartridges contribute over 300,000
tonnes of largely non-biodegradable solid waste to landfill sites,”
said Times Square’s centre manager Noel Bergmann.”Similarly, millions
of mobile phones and their batteries are buried in landfill sites and
allowed to corrode, causing toxic chemicals to leak into the
soil.”Faced with staggering waste the centre provides a collection
point for the toners, cartridges and mobile phones and the money it
raises through recycling them is donated to charity.The collection
point can be found on the ground floor at Times Square Shopping Centre.