We're delighted that our Shropshire Master Composter lead Rachel Phillips-Street has been named as part of a select list of trailblazers, innovators, and visionaries leading the charge for environmental sustainability in the UK.

Rachel was officially recognised as part of the Environment 100 at the ESS Expo on 17 September at the NEC, where her impact and dedication was celebrated by a host of industry peers.

Rachel joined Garden Organic in 2019 to run the Shropshire Master Composter programme. Under her leadership - and with the support of fellow coordinator Wallis - the network has grown to 50 volunteers, all guided and inspired by her passion to support sustainable waste management around the county. Each year the programme records more than 1,000 hours of volunteering, and organises many community events, talks and school visits.

In the last 12 months, Rachel has also supported delivery of the School’s Food Web Programme led by Shropshire Good Food Partnership. As part of the programme, 20 schools were provided with a composting workshop exploring how they can reduce their food waste and paper/cardboard waste, in addition to improving the biodiversity in their school garden.

The Master Composter Programme in Shropshire is a fantastic partnership between Garden Organic, Veolia, and Shropshire Council. With a network of supported community champions, the simple, yet effective messaging inspires many residents to begin composting and ensures those already composting continue to do so. Residents are also more aware of their food waste and encouraged to use their kerbside food waste collections for any cooked or meat, fish, dairy products.

David Garrett, head of Knowledge Transfer at Garden Organic, said: "Rachel welcomes the volunteers, provides them with training and support, opportunities for networking and get togethers, and inspires them in their roles. As such, volunteers stay with us for longer and are very active because of the support they receive. Rachel is an real asset to the team."

Rachel said: "It’s an honour to be recognised for the work we're doing at Garden Organic to support communities to reduce waste and promote biodiversity through composting and gardening. We’ve got a fabulous team of volunteers across the country who are a joy to work with, and they are truly the ones who deserve recognition for their commitment and dedication to helping their areas become greener and more sustainable places."

Like to volunteer or become a Master Composter, head to our volunteering pages.