The greenest place to go at the flower show
An outdoor convenience gets the highest accolade as it earns a place in the RHS Chelsea exhibition
IT IS one of the most sought-after tickets for an English society event.
But visitors to this year’s Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, who enjoy sweet-smelling aromas from exquisite blooms, may be decidedly sniffy about its latest exhibit.
This year a compostable lavatory will go on display for the first time, highlighting just how far gardeners are willing to go in the contest for the “greenest” exhibit .
Inspired by a sedan chair and housed in an elegant hut resembling a small cricket pavilion, the Green Oak Compost Loo, which will cost at least £4,900, is being billed as the ultimate model for outdoor convenience and provides portable comfort as well as helping the environment.
Designer and furniture maker Marnie Moyle, who runs Green Oak Furniture in Oxfordshire, said: “Loos are such horrible things usually, especially public and outdoor ones. But I wanted to create a loo where someone would like to go.
“I did worry it might be too tasteless for Chelsea. We Brits whisper the word loo and are not at all easy discussing the subject. Yet the valuable resources we flush away have to be attended to.
“Anyone can knock up a compost loo with a bucket but I wanted mine to be different. It is beautiful with an element of craftsmanship.”
She is still working on the final design that is shortlisted in the RHS Chelsea Product of the Year competition. For the first time this has focused on green credentials, and the 10 products will be exhibited in the show’s Great Pavilion.
Other finalists for the competition include a zero emissions lawn mower, at a cost of £1,699, as well as chairs and pots made from recycled ocean plastic.
Mrs Moyle said: “We need to think differently about this waste material.”
The lavatory will feature a small cupboard to house water that will be heated by the sun so users can wash their hands. “I think this can be used in any home for people with big gardens, but it could be used at allotments, community gardens and festivals”, she added.
The bench seat with a hole is to be made of scrubbed oak while the hut is made from accoya, a sustainable timber from New Zealand.
Visitors at the show, which has been delayed until September, will not be able to use the facility but will be shown how it works.
Tim Upson, RHS director of horticulture, education and communities, who helped choose the product shortlist, said: “When we saw this compost loo we thought it was suitable to be shown at Chelsea because it symbolises how barriers can be removed from people getting involved in gardening.
“Not everyone has their own garden so they travel to garden in big community gardens, and if there is no facility it puts them off. Traditionally this has been a particular problem for allotments.”
He said the RHS wishes to highlight and encourage greater use of environmentally friendly products: “This underlines an important trend among gardeners.
“All the gardeners I know are very green and try to minimise impacts on the environment.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a petrol powered hedge cutter in years, and as technology allows, people have the opportunity to ditch gas-guzzling lawn mowers for reusable electricity or solarpowered mowers and choose recycled outdoor furniture and plant pots.”
It comes after a survey for the Horticultural Trades Association found consumers were increasingly concerned about saving the planet and climate change. In 2016, people said climate change was ninth in their list of urgent concerns while now it is in second place.
A panel of experts including BBC’s Dragons’ Den investor Deborah Meadon will judge the winner to be announced during the RHS Virtual Chelsea Flower Show from May 17 to 21.
The real show has been delayed until September this year.