Cannabis-cultivating equipment seized from criminal drug operations is to be used by children learning how to grow organic vegetables.
A project set up between social enterprise Bespoke Engaging Education Services (BEES UK) and Devon and Cornwall Police will see children in the region using hydroponic equipment, that would've been otherwise sent to landfill dumps at public expense, to grow their own vegetables.
Craig Downham, Superintendent in Plymouth responsible for local policing and partnerships said "we prefer not to send items, which still have a useful purpose, to landfill. Specialist waste, such as that found in hydroponic equipment, costs us a considerable amount of money to dispose of."
Hydroponics is a method employed to grow plants without soil using mineral nutrient solutions, a technique used in the production of cannabis.
Children using the recycled equipment will create aquaponics systems for organic vegetables, using nutrients found in the waste of resident fish in their locality.
BEES UK's Nathan Potts said he hoped the initiative would take off and lead to other schools employing similar recycling methods: "The long-term dream is to see every school engaging in food growing initiatives helping promote healthier lifestyles and nutrition awareness.
"We’re taking equipment that has been used in the commission of illegal drugs production and repurposing it for positive educational and, potentially, nutritional benefit," he added.
