Since 1870 we’ve lived and breathed malting. With this passion and expertise, and by combining traditional and modern techniques, we create an impressive range of malted and non-malted products, including several unique and exclusive barley malts.
There is nothing more we love than talking to brewers and distillers so if you have any questions, or would like to arrange a call with a member of our team, please feel free to get in touch – we would love to hear from you!
At Northern Monk Brewery, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword—it’s an integral part of their brewing process.
Recently, we sat down with Rivers to discuss the brewery’s exciting participation in a groundbreaking freight recycling scheme through our partnership with TerraCycle. For the past several months, Northern Monk has been playing a key role in this industry-first solution aimed at tackling the challenge of recycling malt sacks in the UK.
The results are impressive: a total of 1008.5kg of waste malt sacks collected for recycling, across 17 pallets—equivalent to nearly 11,000 25kg malt sacks. This collaboration is helping to divert malt sack waste from landfills and incinerators, turning it into valuable secondary raw material that can be reintegrated into the economy, ultimately reducing reliance on virgin plastic.
In this interview, Rivers and Ciaran shared their enthusiasm for the initiative, which holds great potential for transforming sustainability practices in the brewing industry and beyond. Keep reading to learn more about how Northern Monk is leading the charge toward a more sustainable future.
Part of our ethos at Northern Monk is to make a positive impact, which is one reason why sustainability is increasingly becoming an essential part of our organisation. We’ve had a major focus on waste streams in the past year and our staff pointed out that malt sacks were a large, consistent source of waste and it was likely our main waste service provider didn’t recycle them properly. Since we want to divert as much waste as possible to recyclable routes, it was clear that we would benefit from taking part in this programme.
I believe the real benefit of taking part in this programme is showing staff that we are walking the talk, so to speak. It shows them that we have listened, and we are actively making changes to become more sustainable because, while sustainability is important to Northern Monk’s values and goals, it is just as important to our staff as individuals.
We are not doing anything to promote the fact that we’re taking part in the programme outside of our company at the moment. We participate in our fair share of local-government-operated sustainability peer groups, but we seem to be the only brewery in those groups. I think our local government is planning to provide more brewery-focused sustainability peer groups in the future, and that will be the time when we can share our more niche insights with a group of likeminded folks who can make use of the information.
The operational and administrative processes associated with the recycling programme are simple and streamlined. It takes almost no time out of my day to book in a collection, and the collection comes within about a week or less. It all works very well and the folks who help run the programme are well-organised and responsive.
I just want to thank Ellie from Crisp Malt and Josh from TerraCycle for being very helpful, responsive, and easy to work with.
Northern Monk’s participation in the freight recycling scheme with Crisp Malt and TerraCycle is just the beginning of a bigger movement toward sustainability in the brewing industry and beyond. By repurposing waste malt sacks and reducing reliance on virgin plastic, they are helping pave the way for other breweries to follow suit. River and Ciaran’s passion for this initiative highlights the positive impact that innovative partnerships can have on both the environment and the industry as a whole.
To start your recycling journey today, contact your sales rep or speak to our sustainability team using this email address: sustainability@crispmalt.com. To learn more about what’s on offer through TerraCycle, head to our webpage now.
Back to top
