Ramco and First Choice launch sustainable recycling initiative

First Choice Group and Ramco Food Services have teamed up to launch a recycling initiative to prevent thousands of surplus catering parts going to waste.

Ramco resells surplus stock to ensure new outlets are found for items that would otherwise have been disposed of. First Choice is a UK supplier of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) catering equipment spares, accessories and consumables and has master distribution agreements with major catering manufacturers to manage their total parts sales.

First Choice have traditionally sold surplus items to metal recyclers, but this meant many still-serviceable items were unavailable for secondary markets.

The partnership with Ramco will ensure the surplus parts find a new lease of life and Ramco has already managed to environmentally dispose of or resell £234,000 worth of items covering almost 1,200 different product lines.

Julian Fisher, head of marketing at First Choice, said: “Never have sustainability and environmental concerns been more prominent than in today’s business world. We’re pleased to have formed a close working partnership with Ramco. Through the effective reuse and resale of unused materials they have provided us with a safe, sustainable and future-proof solution for the removal of surplus assets.”

First Choice is currently the only parts supplier working with Ramco, and since the partnership began, Ramco has arranged regular collections of a large variety of spares. All items are effectively and efficiently repurposed, reused and resold, with parts finding their way to where they’re most needed – often in developing countries.

Paul Fieldhouse, who leads Ramco Foodservices business development said: “This initiative extends the product lifecycle of resources, ensures that they retain their value and above all, prevents them being unnecessarily scrapped or sent to landfill.”

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