Community Contribution
Making an economic contribution to a rural community has always been a core value for Belleek Pottery. In fact since its very beginnings, the founders of the pottery aimed to create opportunity and improvement to the local economy.
Today for every transaction that takes place in the visitor centre, this can be directly related back to our community, through the employment of our staff, the wages they are paid and how this money is put directly back into the local economy. We employ more than 150 people, this sustains approximately 105 families representing +/-12% of the local population.
Increasingly visitors want to hear about our community involvement and how we employ sustainable practices. Our international audience are particularly impressed that our visitor centre team and factory workers come from the locality, some of whom have had family members working here from several generations.
Waste
Our entire waste product generated directly from production such as plaster of paris moulds, clay fired rings and fired items that are rejected for quality reasons, are screened, crushed and recycled as hard fill. The end product is used mostly in the construction industry.
Our waste cardboard and plastic are separated and baled on site. These bales are collected at regular intervals and sent to a mill for recycling.
Our mixed waste is sorted at Erne Skip Services & Recycling in Fermanagh.
Our third party waste management partners are located within an hour’s drive of the pottery enabling us to ensure the journey to process our waste is kept to a minimum.
Solar
For over 165 years, Belleek Pottery has progressed with the continues change in meeting its energy needs in the most efficient way possible. From the coal-fired kilns of the 19th century with a mill wheel to grind the raw materials to produce slip, to a water turbine in the 1930s using the River Erne for power and then progressing to electric fired kilns in the 1950s, Belleek Pottery has now moved to 21st century with investment in self-generation through solar PV.
An optimised 150kWp system has been installed on the factory roof comprising 330 solar photovoltaic modules. Typically on an annual basis this provides approximately 30% of the business’ total energy needs.
An additional and much appreciated benefit of our new system has been a reduction in our carbon output by 18 tonnes per year. This has the same effect as planting almost 3,500 trees.
Recent Comments