A West Dorset business has congratulated sustainable packaging business Notpla on winning Prince William's Earthshot Prize. 

The Earthshot Prize, launched in 2020 by the now Prince of Wales and Sir David Attenborough, is awarded to five winners each year for their contributions to environmentalism, with each receiving a grant of £1million to continue their environmental work.

Notpla, founded in 2014, recently won the Build a Waste Free World category. The company is reducing society's reliance on unnecessary, single-use packaging by developing truly biodegradable solutions made from seaweed and plants that leave no trace at their end-of-life. 

One local business to make the most of Notpla's innovative products is The Hive group, which runs The Hive Beach Café at Burton Bradstock, The Club House at West Bexington and The Watch House Café in West Bay.

With three restaurants right on the beaches of the Jurassic Coast, the business is passionate about protecting our marine environment and aims to be as environmentally aware and sustainable as possible. 

As part of this mission, the restaurants use Notpla's biodegradable seaweed packaging for takeaway orders.

A spokesperson for Hive said: "We work Notpla as they fit our ethos of using sustainable products. 

"Notpla takeaway boxes are made from seaweed and are biodegradable, and this is what we aim to bring to our restaurants by ensuring that our takeaway packaging doesn't end up in landfills, that they are recycled. 

"This helps our planets and our oceans."

For more details on Notpla's products, visit www.notpla.com

As well as replacing all its takeaway boxes with completely plastic free versions, West Dorset's Hive group takes the following actions to reduce its impact on the environment:

• Collects the oil and turned this into fuel, tarmac and soap
• Uses local suppliers wherever possible to reduce its carbon footprint
• Constantly monitors its products and processes to see what can be done to lessen the impact on the environment
• Recycles all cardboard
• Takes part in regular beach cleans
• No longer sells plastic beach inflatables 
• Reduced single use plastic by using paper straws, paper bags, canned water and plastid-free hand wipes 
• Vegetable supplies deliver produce in re-usable crates
• Uses vegetables grown in The Club House garden across all sites

For more details on this and the three restaurants' locally-sourced, sustainable menus, visit www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk, www.theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk and www.watchhousecafe.co.uk