Wyke Farms has reached a key milestone in its £10 million sustainability plan with its £1.3m water recovery plant now fully operational.

Today sees the official opening of the plant by Wyke Farms, the UK’s largest independent cheese producer and milk processor. The new plant is now fully operational and will enable Wyke to recover up to 95% of its factory wastewater.

The £1.3 million investment is part of the cheese brand’s £10 million long-term sustainability plan, called 100% Green. The Water Recovery Plant consists of a new membrane filtration system, which is installed in the effluent area of its factory and has already reduced factory water consumption by 70%.

It will save Wyke Farms up to 850,000 litres of water per day and offers a certain amount of future proofing for the company who believe climate change will make water a valuable resource at certain times of the year, so investing in cutting edge technology, rather than more water extraction or bigger incoming mains is a more sustainable approach.

The launch of its own on-site biogas plant last year also saw Wyke Farms become the UK’s first national cheddar brand to be 100% self-sufficient in green energy. In addition to the Water Recovery Plant, Wyke has continued to make significant impact on further reducing its carbon emissions by fitting solar panelling across its family owned farms and cheese dairy, using electric vehicles for delivery and reducing its packaging waste.

The 2nd phase of Wyke Farms’ Anaerobic Digester (AD) project is already in progress and due to launch later this year. This will generate up to £2 million of upgraded biogas per year, ensuring that Wyke Farms buys no gas from grid.