Tomcat recycle as much waste as possible: all our industrial packaging is recycled by the Butterfly Garden, a local scheme that aims to stimulate and provide purposeful opportunity to people dealing with disablement of any kindor. We similarly shred all sensitive documentation, and the waste from this process is used for animal bedding. Over the last year alone, we have reduced our contract waste collection from once per week to once per fortnight.

We have invested much time and effort in optimising our website to be a large source of information about our services and our products, alleviating the need to send out printed materials. In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, we direct customers to our website wherever possible, saving our printed brochures purely for handing out at trade exhibitions. Since the website’s launch, we have seen a considerable drop in our printing spend and the volume of literature we send out. Customers still receive an excellent service either over the phone or through enquiries over our social media platforms.

Cycling is an environmentally-friendly activity in itself, however one innovation in particular goes beyond the obvious in its contribution: the Trailer Trike, a tricycle that quickly and easily converts to a trailer. Configured as a trailer, a disabled child can ride behind a parent’s bike and enjoy a stimulating outdoor adventure. It is so popular that approximately 50% of all Tomcat Tricycles have this feature.

Families of a child with special needs can often be split, where one parent is with the disabled child, the other with the siblings. The Trailer Trike however, means a family can enjoy family time cycling together, whereas previously, they may have been obliged to take a car somewhere where the disabled person had to use a wheelchair. Health benefits aside that flexibility is very good for the environment.

The Tomcat Science Chair is similarly environmentally friendly because of its unique design. It has a purely mechanical system but is often used in schools as a substitute for electric powered chairs, which clearly pollute the environment through their use of power batteries and chargers.

Most of all we are proud of our Give and Take scheme where we recycle unwanted products by servicing them, then passing them on entirely free of charge to amenities like hospitals, CDC’s, hospices and schools who could otherwise not afford them. This gives new life to useful items that have simply been outgrown by the original owner. With a little attention they can be valuable all over again and in turn, encourages them to be environmentally friendly too.