MULCH produced by Dorchester Town Council gardening staff is now being used in borders on council-owned sites throughout the county town.

Outdoor services manager Carl Dallison says the change is part of the council’s ‘green’ initiatives and in previous years cuttings and other organic waste, which could have made mulch, was disposed of.

The town council has been running a number of initiatives in its parks and gardens to cut down on carbon use – including switching to battery powered tools, using electric vehicles and having boreholes drilled to provide its own water in both the Borough Gardens and at the Weymouth Avenue recreation ground.

Solar panels have also been fitted to the roof of the council depot off St Georges Road and a bio-fuel heating system is being planned for the town’s Municipal Buildings.

A planting programme, involving more than 1,500 trees, is also being planned by the town council, many destined for the riverbank area at the King’s Road playing field where organisations involved in the response to the Covid pandemic may be invited to take part in planting ceremonies.