Wyke Farms opened the doors to its $2.3 million water recovery plant, which will enable the UK-based independent cheese producer and milk processor to recover up to 95% of its factory wastewater.

This plant is part of the cheese brand’s $17 million long-term sustainability plan, called 100% Green.

“100% Green is an ongoing journey that we remain committed to,” says Richard Clothier, managing director and third-generation family member. “We are excited to be communicating our ‘green message’ this year alongside all of the other Wyke brand values that shoppers are familiar with. This will ensure that the Wyke Farms will remain a national grocery brand with a unique point of difference.”

The water recovery plant consists of a new membrane filtration system, which is installed in the effluent area of its factory and has already reduced factory water consumption by 70%, saving Wyke Farms up to 850,000 litres of water per day. It also offers a certain amount of future proofing for the company, who believes climate change will make water a valuable resource at certain times of the year. 

In addition, Wyke Farms continues to make significant impact on further reducing its carbon emissions by fitting solar panelling across its family-owned farms and cheese dairy. It also uses electric vehicles for delivery, reduced its packaging waste and last year, launched its own on-site biogas plant, making Wyke Farms one of the UK’s first national cheddar brands to be 100% self-sufficient in green energy.

The second phase of the anaerobic digester project is already in progress and set to launch later this year. This will generate up to $3.4 million of upgraded biogas per year, ensuring that Wyke Farms buys no gas from grid.