JACKON, manufacturer of extruded polystyrene-based JACKOBOARD solutions for tiling, is launching a year-long campaign of support for The Bee Centre, near Preston, Lancashire.

The campaign starts this month, with the donation of 200 beehives to the Centre. With a retail value, including all accessories, of up to £250 each, the beehives are to be used in starter kits for school environmental projects.

The initial donation will be followed up with related support activity to be unveiled during the coming year.

JACKON is a highly environmentally-conscious manufacturer and the company has always sought to reduce the environmental impact of its production processes. Energy efficiency, sustainability and waste reduction are guiding principles of the business. JACKOBOARD construction boards form an ideal base for tiling. The boards are moisture-resistant, waterproof, thermally insulating, lightweight and very strong.

With its support for The Bee Centre, JACKON is making explicit the link between its products and the environment. The beehives that it is donating are manufactured by JACKON from the company’s own polystyrene bead. They will last a lifetime and provide better insulation than timber alternatives in the winter.

Colin Higham, Managing Director of Jackon UK Ltd, said: “Single-use plastics are getting a bad press at the moment – and our misuse of them is certainly causing a massive environmental problem.

“However, there is a positive side too. Our products last a lifetime, have very impressive insulation properties when used in construction projects and cause minimal environmental impact, if manufacturing processes are carried out properly.”

The link with The Bee Centre gives a focus on to what is, along with the plastics issue, one of the most worrying aspects of the current environmental crisis, namely the threat to pollinating bees, whose activities are critical both to nature and to many aspects of our own food production.

Simon Cordingley of The Bee Centre, said: “Our work is centred around the important environmental story of pollination carried out by bees. It’s about generating awareness in schools, colleges and local communities of the importance of our native bees and the threats to them.

“We have used polystyrene beehives in the past, so we are familiar with the advantages, compared to timber alternatives. To receive 200 of these from JACKON, of a proven type which they already sell in Scandinavia, is a massive and welcome boost for our work."

As well as donating products, JACKON will also be supporting a number of strands of community engagement and education which The Bee Centre is carrying out in the coming months.

www.TheBeeCentre.org
www.jackon-insulation.co.uk