A BRIDGWATER business has won recognition at Kensington Palace for ending the burial of its industrial waste in landfill sites.

Nonwovenn, a high-tech fabric manufacturer, has won recognition for completely ending its 20-year practice of sending 500 tonnes of waste annually to landfill. The business has also been praised for its soaring recycling rates and sourcing all its electricity from renewables.

"We work across the country, but Nonwovenn is the first company we've met in their field of fabric production that has hit the zero-waste to landfill target," commented Pete Clutterbuck, Technical Director of partner company, Waste Efficiency Ltd. 

Pete added: "What is impressive with Nonwovenn is the sheer speed of this achievement which has come from their commitment to respecting the environment whilst cutting business costs." 

Nonwovenn was commended for its achievements at the International Green Apple Environmental Awards 2024 at Kensington Palace.

Along with achieving zero waste to landfill, the business had raised its recycling rate from 1.7% to 66%, and is on its way to its 80% recycling goal. Nonwovenn has an ultimate goal of moving towards net zero carbon emissions by 2035.

Director of Sustainability at Nonwovenn, Prabhat Mishra was at Kensington Palace to receive the commendation.

"No other company in our sector around the world has shown it has moved as rapidly as Nonwovenn in hitting these sustainability targets. While a lot of waste in this manufacturing is impossible to recycle due to its composition, the Green Apple recognition for our Bridgwater factory is because, instead of dumping that waste, we minimise it by reducing at source and recovering energy from the balance”, Prabhat reflected.

Nonwovenn employs over 200 people at its Bridgwater headquarters and has demonstrated how businesses can combine high profitability with keeping sustainability and zero waste to landfill of paramount importance in everything they do.

In November, it has recruited 20 more operators to keep up with demand.

The company has also make national headlines for its portfolio of harm-reducing products. Last year the BBC and the Daily Mail reported how its “magic bandages” were saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers due to their ability to stop bleeding in 60 seconds.

The firm also makes suits which help firefighters and other security personnel deal with chemical, biological and radioactive risks. Demand for the specialist suits is growing fast and it is starting to dominate the global market for the fabric used in nicotine pouches – a hugely popular alternative to smoking. These pouches are sold in the big supermarkets and Nonwovenn now supplies one-third of the fabric used in them around the world.

“Our Somerset success story comes from the engagement of our Bridgwater staff in not just what we do as a business, but how we do it", added Prabhat Mishra.

"The Green Apple commendation recognises how we are not just zero waste to landfill but also refusing to rely on carbon credits to off-set our CO2 emissions. Instead, we are getting all our electricity from renewable sources and are determined to become completely carbon neutral”. 

"Nonwovenn is a purpose-led business committed to driving sustainable harm reduction in everything we do, making a significant impact despite our SME size", he concluded.