Merenda’s core raw material is wood. As a renewable, but increasingly scarce resource, Merenda is very conscious of its position as a protector of this resource within the confines of its processes. In 2000, to compliment this conflicting situation, the company developed a recycling facility, which today caters for 80% of the waste, which the factory produces.

The innovative recycling policy developed by Merenda resulted from a research and development programme undertaken by the company. The objective was to find a useful by-product from the large quantities of wood waste generated by the factory.

The by-product produced as a result of the manufacturing process is a pure wood waste. This raw wood waste is converted into a wood briquette, which the company markets as a domestic fuel for burning in homes, the hospitality industry and heating industrial facilities.

The ability to recycle the majority of its waste, allows Merenda to work within the parameters of the Environmental Protection Agency’s wastage regulations as well as producing an environmentally friendly product. Merenda’s recycle-friendly policy gives the company a new dimension, and a very positive framework from which to build on in the future.

The ability to recycle is therefore benefiting Merenda, the local community and the environment. Wastage is no longer an ongoing concern for the company, but a required commodity to supply another fledgling innovative business venture.