Recofloor celebrated the environmental commitment of its recycling champions at its sixth Annual Awards Event at London’s world-famous Kia Oval cricket ground in March.
Flooring companies, contractors and distributors received trophies and certificates in ten major award categories plus Gold and Silver groupings from guest host former England cricket captain and Sky Sports commentator David Gower. These companies collected a record-breaking 523 tonnes through the scheme in 2016 – equivalent to 3.2 million cricket balls.
David commented: “Recycling is vital and I can see very easily that Recofloor makes economic and cultural sense to anyone involved in this industry.”
The main winners were Middlesex Flooring Ltd, MCD Kidderminster, Fantasy Flooring Ltd, Ryjock Flooring Ltd, Interserve, The Hull Flooring Company Ltd, Commercial Flooring UK Ltd, PFL, 3D Flooring Supplies, S&D Flooring Specialists Ltd and Carpets ‘N’ Carpets Ltd.
A record number of entries were received and were judged mainly on last year’s achievements, while also recognising collectors’ significant contributions in various ways.
Middlesex Flooring Ltd won Contractor of the Year for their ‘impassioned attitude’ towards the scheme and demonstration of ‘exceptional commitment’ to collecting clean material. Alongside regularly briefing staff on the importance of separating material for recycling, they ran an internal competition to see which fitter could collect the most vinyl flooring. Top Floors (East Anglia) Ltd was highly commended in this category.
Distributors play a significant role in the scheme’s success by extending their services to allow fitters to drop off smaller volumes of waste vinyl flooring at their sites. Named Distributor of the Year, MCD Kidderminster impressed the judges by further increasing tonnages and training their sales staff to promote Recofloor’s benefits while visiting customers. Birch Distribution, Sheffield was highly commended in this category.
Fantasy Flooring Ltd scooped Drop-Off Site User of the Year having stood out as a ‘consistent performer’ and ‘outstanding’ Recofloor contributor over the years. Praised for returning clean, good quality material, the company displays the Recofloor logo across their vehicle fleet. Ryjock Flooring Ltd was highly commended in this category.
Designed to give credit to contractors of all sizes, the new Project of the Year award went to Ryjock Flooring Ltd for their successful use of Recofloor in a major on-going social housing refurbishment scheme for Sheffield City Council. Toolbox Talks ensured their fitters understood how the scheme works, maximising the amount of material collected while reducing disposal costs. Another winning quality was the ‘slick coordination and communication’ between the contractor and the Birch Distribution drop-off site. J&S Flooring Ltd was highly commended in this category.
Ryjock Flooring Managing Director, Wayne Conlan said: “As proud Recofloor members we are thrilled to be the first to win this new award category. It’s a big bonus. My son Ryan was proactive in establishing the scheme on this project as we knew that it was going to create a lot of waste. Tackling environmental issues ticks a lot of boxes, so we will continue to promote the scheme via our website, emails and social media.”
Rita Fortune, Marketing Manager at PFL’s Dublin depot was named Recofloor Champion as a ‘shining example’ to all members. Having taken her company from recycling nothing to recycling in three different branches, Limerick, Dublin and Belfast, Rita also promotes Recofloor via various media channels. Lee Harvey, MCD Wales was highly commended in this category.
“It was an amazing surprise to receive the award and totally unexpected, I’m delighted,” said Rita. “PFL were behind the scheme 100% from the start, so none of this would have been possible without that support. Recycling through Recofloor is a no-brainer really; you have to save the planet and you’re saving your customers money. It’s a very easy system to use, the key thing is ensuring everyone understands how it works and to keep getting that across to them.”
In a Recofloor first, S&D Flooring Specialists Ltd was named a double award winner for Brand Ambassador (new for 2017) and Outstanding Achievement. Described as the ‘epitome of proactivity’, the Hull-based company has a dedicated Recofloor section on their website and an active presence on a broad range of social media platforms, including an informative Twitter account. After collecting the largest volume of material by any contractor, S&D Flooring Specialists also reaches people ‘like no other company does’. Branagan Flooring Services Ltd was highly commended in the Brand Ambassador category.
Greatest Improver went to Interserve with a 240% increase in tonnage collected compared to the previous year. The Hull Flooring Company Ltd and Commercial Flooring UK Ltd took second and third places respectively.
3D Flooring Supplies received Best Newcomer, having taken to the scheme ‘like a duck to water’. Based in Bristol, a Recofloor hotspot, they have collected more material than other member in that area and created a loyal following of Recofloor drop-off site users. G S Flooring Ltd was highly commended in this category.
The final award; the Longstanding Service Award was presented to Carpets ‘N’ Carpets, Treorchy, one of Recofloor’s most consistent collectors that has collected nearly 60 tonnes in total since joining in 2011. Senior Estimator Ian Davies commented: “The scheme works well for us and having won Contractor of the Year last year, obviously we’re delighted to win again. We publicise this on our website and use the Recofloor logos on our vans, stationery and emails.”
Recofloor Directors Bob Smith and John Patsavellas praised the high quality and content of entries that made judging a difficult task. John added: Recofloor is a world-beating scheme; it makes absolutely logical and financial sense. It’s a win-win!”
Material collected by Recofloor’s 700-plus members is recycled back into products, including new flooring, which benefits the environment and can reduce collectors’ waste disposal costs by up to 70%. Waste vinyl flooring was also used to make this year’s distinctive new awards trophies, designed by Stella Corrall, Creative Director at Lucentia Design.
Reporting on the scheme’s 2016 achievements, Recofloor Manager Jane Gardner said: “Recofloor is making an impact at the heart of the Circular Economy through recovering resources for reuse. It’s a great example of manufacturers working together for a sustainable future.”
A total of 29 firms received Gold and Silver Awards based on the amount of material collected per fitter.
Gold Award winners included: 3D Flooring Supplies, Cardiff; Birch Distribution, Hull; Birch Distribution, Sheffield; Breydon Flooring Ltd; Carpet & Flooring, Bristol; Carpet & Flooring, Manchester; Chesterfield Contract Flooring; MCD Kidderminster; MK Floorstyle; Reform Flooring Ltd; S&D Flooring Specialists Ltd; Status Flooring Ltd, The Hull Flooring Company; Top Floors (East Anglia) Ltd.
Silver Award winners were: 3D Flooring Supplies, Taunton; Branagan Flooring Services Ltd; Carpet & Flooring, Glasgow; Carpets ‘N’ Carpets Ltd; Flooring Solutions (NI) Ltd; J&S Flooring; K Broadbent Carpet Contractors; Mayfield Flooring Ltd, MCD Wales; Middlesex Flooring Ltd; Neofloors Limited; Nutland Carpets Accessories Ltd (Chandlers Ford); Premier Carpets & Flooring Ltd; Safety Flooring Supplies; Stanground Carpets & Flooring Ltd.
