The interest in climate change, the environment and what we can do to help it has strengthened over recent years. Events such as COP26 held in Glasgow last November have attracted world focus to this hugely important issue. Although many of the causes of climate change can be viewed as the responsibility of big business and governments, we as individuals or small business owners are increasingly recognising that we have a part to play in reducing, reusing, recycling and doing our bit.
At Fenland Spirit Services, working towards a greener future is central to our ethos. Our entire business is built on recycling and fixing lawnmowers so that they avoid the scrap heap and can be reused by businesses and individuals.
Recycling: Doing our bit for the environment
Many of us diligently rinse out plastic and glass containers putting them in the blue bin every fortnight. It makes us feel good that we are doing our bit for recycling. This is a great start and more of us are also thinking about reducing and reusing in order to minimise the waste to be recycled or heading to landfill.
Consumption of bottled water for example has fallen in the last few years in the UK. Statistics show the lowest level since 2015, down from a 2018 peak of nearly 3000 million litres to around 2500 million litres in 2020. Still some way to go but a step in the right direction for reducing single use water bottles. There are so many ways we can all help the environment. At Fenland Spirit Services we focus on finding more sustainable ways to do things at our base in Littleport.
How Fenland Spirit Services helps the environment
At Fenland Spirit Services, the issues around recycling are not just words but are a central part of our business. It is important to us to reduce our environmental impact and we have employed a number of different methods to achieve this.
Our workshop has insulated walls and roof so we can use minimal heating in winter whilst keeping our employees comfortable. We tend to keep the workshop door closed on cold days to keep the heat in. This may be obvious but it has an effect. It’s the small steps that over time can make a big difference to the environment.
Even our delivery van is a repurposed ambulance – the vanbulance, which we use to collect customer machinery daily, saving visits to our site. In the future we’d like to invest in solar panels and rainwater harvesting to support our aspiration to minimise our impact, alongside an electric van when the range is suitable for our use. As a small business, we will continue to look at ways we can make a difference. Find out more about our green ideals.
Good for the environment and your pocket
Our grandparents came from a generation where the focus was very much on make-do and mend. In recent years consumers have tended to follow a use, break and bin cycle. Upcycling and mending are again the way forward and the focus is on making things last for longer. At Fenland Spirit Services this is our ethos, we advocate repairing rather than buying new when it comes to lawnmowers.
All of our sales lawnmowers come to us to be recycled, thrown away by the previous owner or traded in. Most are serviced and repaired to be sold on to a new owner with plenty of life left in them. Many of these mowers will be useful for several more years, therefore reducing the number of new machines needing manufacture and shipping. As a family business we pride ourselves on delivering an excellent service. Your lawnmower is recycled and repaired by our team and Stuart who is a qualified horticultural engineer. Between them our engineers have many years of experience in the mower industry.
When you buy one of our recycled lawnmowers it’s not only good for the environment but good for your pocket, costing substantially less than a new machine. We will always advise on the best machine for your needs. It could mean that we recommend a smaller machine when you have come in for a ride on mower. Do you need advice on what mower would work best for your garden? Contact the Fenland Spirit Services team, we’re here to help.
Repair and recycle: We keep your lawnmower going
When a customer brings their mower to us for servicing or repairs, our intention is to keep it working. If we can’t get parts for a particular piece of machinery because the manufacturer has made it obsolete, we have a stock of used mowers we can sometimes obtain used parts from although all service parts are of course, new.
We also fabricate or repair parts which might not be replaceable, for example by welding decks and repairing cracked plastics such as bonnets on ride on mowers. By repairing and servicing in this way we can save the customer substantial amounts of money as well as keeping the equipment running. It’s a win-win situation for you and the environment.
Nothing goes to waste. The machinery we can’t repair is stripped of its reusable parts and the rest is sent off for recycling. All the fluids from servicing equipment are sent off for recycling using our approved collection partner, Safety-Kleen. They also take oil and fuel filters, keeping hazardous waste out of landfill. All our parts packaging, boxes and bubble wrap are either reused or recycled with Amey Cespa. The latter collect the small amount of general waste we produce, recycling it through their local facility at Waterbeach.
E10 petrol: Better for the environment but a problem for some engines
As well as working to keep your mower going, at Fenland Spirit Services we help you avoid problems before they arise. Once such example is E10 petrol.
There have been changes to the standard unleaded at petrol stations since September 2021 with the introduction of E10 petrol. E10 is 10% ethanol, it is better for the environment as it is grown and therefore renewable. It is a problem however for older engines or small machinery, especially if the equipment is not used regularly. There is nothing more frustrating than getting your mower out for the first cut of the season to find it doesn’t work. This is mostly caused by fuel related issues.
Your mower or other garden equipment may sit unused for months over winter or during a hot dry summer. Minimum delivery at the petrol station is often 5 litres, once the fuel is over 2 months old it can deteriorate causing problems for your small engined equipment. From 2 months ethanol can separate and attract water, damage fuel pipes and rubber seals. It eats away at internal engine parts and even degrades 2 stroke oil in your chainsaw or strimmer. All making for an unhappy and often unusable piece of machinery.
We’re here to help you anticipate problems before they arise. Customers on our mailing list receive information on how to care for their mowers. There are answers to these E10 petrol problems, one option is replacing your equipment with electric or battery powered machinery. If you have a small garden the lead on an electric mower should be sufficient and you should be careful not to run over the lead. Battery technology is improving all the time and for a medium garden it should last long enough to finish the job. Think about your other battery powered tools e.g. drills etc. Can you buy a strimmer or blower unit which uses the same batteries and charger as you already own? This will save you money as you already have the means to power the unit.
You could switch to E5 petrol. E5 is generally premium unleaded. We would advise you to check the handle says E5 as some supermarkets only sell E10 for both standard and premium fuel. We recommend using Briggs and Stratton fuel fit (or any other fuel stabiliser) to treat E5 fuel as it still doesn’t last well being stored.
The final option we can suggest is to use Aspen fuel. Aspen is an ethanol free and low benzine synthethic petrol so it doesn’t come from fossil fuels. It is kinder to the environment, to your machinery and doesn’t give off the toxic fumes you get from regular petrol. 1 litre, 5 litre and 25 litre containers made from recyclable plastic are available from us. Aspen 4 is perfect for your mower, petrol rotavator or generator. Premixed Aspen 2 is recommended for chainsaws, strimmers, hedge cutters and other tools you’d normally mix oil and fuel together for. Other makes such as Husqvarna and Stihl fuels are also available.
If this all seems a bit confusing, get in touch with the Fenland Spirit Services team. We’re here to help you keep your mower going.
How Fenland Spirit Services Make Do and Mend in the 21st Century
Our grandparents came from a generation where the focus was very much on make-do and mend. In recent years consumers have tended to follow cycle of a use, break and bin. Upcycling and mending are the way forward once again and the focus is back on making things last for longer.
At Fenland Spirit Services this is our ethos, we advocate repairing rather than buying new when it comes to lawnmowers. We are driven by our passion to provide customers with good value, high quality and reliable garden machinery. We sell and repair lawnmowers and ride on mowers as well as small engined construction equipment. Our business is run on a foundation of environmental values and we are known for our eco-friendly mindset. We give broken mowers a new lease of life and extend their usage for owners.
There are of course, still more improvements we could make. It’s important to look at how we live and work in order to make a positive difference. Some feel we need to do more and faster, increasing the speed and size of actions to do our bit for the environment. We will help you do your bit with your garden machinery. For real recycling and to find out more about our mowers call us on 07753 836 499.
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