Sustainability
Sustainability for us is about ‘meeting the needs of today, whilst protecting the needs of tomorrow’. The fishing and farming industry work extremely hard to ensure that the sea and land continues to provide a living for us all now, and for future generations and as retailers and consumers we all have a part to play in this.
As a fish and chips shop we rely on the supply of fish and potatoes as these are the core elements of our business, so, it is important to ensure we have a sustainably sourced supply of these items, they are our future and the future of the people who work in our industry.
Fully-Traceable Supplies of Certified & Sustainable Fish
At Seabreeze Fish and Chips we have a good relationship with our fish suppliers whom we have used for many years. All our suppliers actively promote the use of certified, sustainable species. All of the Frozen at Sea fish that we use is of the highest quality and is fully traceable. We buy from several well respected trawlers who are committed to responsible sea fishing.
Local Potatoes
Seabreeze has very strong links with a local farmer G. W Marsay from Great Ayton, where our co-owner Kevin worked for many years before joining Nicola. So he’s well versed in maintaining a constant growing cycle of our main variety Sagitta. With the changes of the seasons we sometimes have to change the variety we use, so occasionally we also use Challanger and more recently Pantha and we are also going to sample a new variety Ramos. All of these varieties have their place throughout the year.
By using potatoes that are grown locally we help support local jobs and the economy in our area. We are also reducing our carbon footprint and aiding in the preservation of our environment by ensuring that there are low food miles from land to plate, and keeping our customers happier, with the least amount of unnecessary alteration to our products.
Reducing Plastic
We are proud to be Redcar’s first Surfers Against Sewage accredited ‘Plastic Free Business’ for making a commitment to reducing our single use plastic products and replacing them with more sustainable alternatives.
In an effort to support the drive to reduce plastic we have implemented the following changes:
We removed all our plastic carrier bags and moved onto paper bags with rope handles. We on occasion use some biodegradable and 100% recyclable carrier bags within the shop. Over 20% of these bags are made from award winning bio- renewable material from a sustainable source of naturally occurring waste oyster shells. We were surprised but quite intrigued to know that these shells are then powdered down to make a polymer replacement
We removed and replaced all our plastic cutlery with wooden alternatives which are 100% FSC certified birchwood. FSC stands for 'Forest Stewardship Council'. They are an international non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting responsible forestry. FSC certifies forests all over the world to ensure they meet the highest environmental and social standards
We removed all of our polystyrene peas pots and swapped to cardboard pots which are recyclable with polypropylene lids which are also recyclable
We stopped using polystyrene tray/boxes and now have biodegradable boxes. Bio boxes are made from bagasse a bi-product of sugar cane production, bio boxes are bio-degradable and compostable
Our main corrugated fish and chip boxes are recyclable, biodegradable and compostable and we moved onto these over 20 years ago
We minimise our single use condiments sachets by using refillable bottles of salt and vinegar
We encourage customers to reduce waste by offering a 10% discount on hot drinks to customers who bring their own reusable coffee cups
Straws – we are in the process of swapping our single use slush straws to biodegradable ones and we are waiting on information from our suppliers in regard to the plastic straws attached to the cup drinks
Rather than use single use plastic we now actively look where possible for supplies that are recyclable, biodegradable and compostable.
Making Small Changes
At Seabreeze we know that sometimes you have to start with the little things around us to make a big difference.
It is our aim to act responsibly by implementing environmentally friendly policies and our actions include:
Swapping all our bulbs to low energy light bulbs
Working closely with our suppliers in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint by minimising the frequency of our deliveries
Waste management – we aim to work with our suppliers to have reduced packaging with our orders so that we can reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and there by cause less harm to the environment
All our waste cardboard is collected and taken to an advanced recycling facility which aims to minimise waste to landfills
To reduce our overall waste and to maximise our recycled proportions
All of our waste cooking oil and fats are collected so that they can be recycled into renewable energy, bio fuels, helping to save the planet
We are committed to only buying fish & seafood that has been fished responsibly and within quotas to sustain stocks. Whenever possible we are proud to support & serve local produce and ingredients.