Exmoor Lockdown Diary 82 - My Friend the Sausage Maker Helps Protect the Planet

Okay, this might look to be a rather strange image which we at RAW Food & Drink PR recently commissioned from photographer Steve Hayward . Why is this man wrapped in what looks to be cling-film?

Westaways packaging decomposing happily in Charles Baughan’s home compost heap

Well, it’s a great story.

An environmentally friendly story. And hats-off big-time to my old friend Charles Baughan who has become the first meat-producer in the UK - if not the whole of Europe - to wrap all his firm’s products in eco-friendly packaging.

So, the stuff covering Charles in our photograph is not the sort of plastic film normally used to wrap food - it is a revolutionary new substance that breaks down naturally and so does not harm the environment. In utilising this material, the Devon-based company Westaways has become the first meat producer to use packaging that is so environment-friendly, you can stash it in your compost heap rather than add the nation’s waste problem.

And that is a really big deal when you come to think about it — and also the reason I am repeating my recent newspaper article here on my website. I want to make it clear that this is not paid-for content - I am not charging Westaways for putting this article here. This is simply a case of credit-where-credit-is-due.

We all know that human addiction to plastic-use is causing one of the great problems faced by our oceans, by our marine life and goodness knows what elsewhere. There ought to be a massive move away from using it, especially in packaging.

The world’s big leading corporations ought to be leading the way on this - but they’re not.

It has taken visionary and determined Charles Baughan and his small sausage company here in the South West UK to lead the way in breaking our plastic-addiction. In doing so, Westaways has achieved a major milestone.

“If you walk down a meat or dairy aisle in a supermarket you will see that just about every product is wrapped in plastic,” says Charles. “As a company that cares about the environment, we asked ourselves why that should be?”

“And, although it has taken a lot of investment and patience, we now have the answer,” he said.

“Products like sausages do not have to be entombed in plastic - there are alternatives and from now on our range will be sold in eco-friendly cartons and wrappings that will disintegrate naturally in a compost heap.”

“We are proud to announce this UK first - and proud that it has taken a relatively small Devon company to lead the way,” said Charles. 

For 18 months Westaways sausages have been packed in trays made with Forestry Stewardship Certified cardboard which is recyclable or compostable and already more than a million packs have been sold.

But it is a revolutionary cling-film style wrapping which has allowed Westaways to make the 100 per cent eco-friendly claim.

“It is a bioplastic – bioplastics are defined by European Bioplastics as being either biodegradable or made from a plant-base,” explained Charles. “In a compost heap it will fully disintegrate within six months and fully biodegrade within a further six months without leaving any microplastic traces - I know that because I’ve been trialling it in my own garden.”

Westaways carried out exhaustive research before making the move and invested in machinery that has been designed to incorporate the new film wrap. 

“This new wonder material will change our industry,” commented Charles. “It is strong, highly stretchable, glossy and, best of all, compostable.”

Devon’s ‘sausage king’ has made headlines by creating a market for British bangers in Asia and by developing products such as Sausage Hoops and Giant 3m long Sausage Whirls - is a nature-lover and a keen sea-angler. 

“I have seen the damage plastics can do and so am passionate about doing something to make a difference,” he says. “Large corporations and supermarket chains had the same opportunity to do something about the problem, but it has taken our relatively small Devon company to lead the way and develop what we hope will become an industry standard.”

“The example we have set changes the way we do things in the food industry and other companies should follow our lead - which would result in the environment being freed of thousands of tons of plastic.” 

For further information on Westaways Sausages, please visit www.westawaysausages.com. Follow @westawaysausages on Instagram and @westaways on Twitter, and Facebook.