White Moss Horticulture were the winners of the 'Best Business Innovation' award at the inaugural pan-industry Horticulture Week Awards held in London on Tuesday 4th October.
Over 450 horticultural industry members attended the awards and there was a welcome speech given by The Rt Hon the Lord Heseltine CH. The awards were presented by Newsreader and TV personality Fiona Bruce.
White Moss Horticulture beat off strong competition from a wide range of projects to win the award, which was given to the entrant 'from any horticultural sector that demonstrated the most innovative business initiative'. White Moss' entry was 'A Business Model for the Growing Media Industry' detailing the development of their two and a half million pound green-waste composting site at Simonswood Moss, Liverpool, the largest in the UK dedicated to horticulture.
A decisive factor in White Moss' success was the creation of the first growing media manufacturing site in the UK to have significant peat extraction, composting and growing media manufacture all on the one site. The judges congratulated White Moss on their "excellent business model".
This award recognises the importance of major recycling (50,000 tonnes per year) in an area of the UK that had previously been criticised regarding recycling rates compared to the rest of the country.
Details of the award can be read in this Horticulture Week article (PDF).
