In downtown London’s Green Park, a cleanup effort is under way to remove plastic wrappers from floral tributes being placed for the late queen.
On Monday afternoon, workers could be seen loading hundreds of garbage bags full of cellophane into vehicles as they removed the plastic packing off the flowers.
The packaging is being transported to a facility for mixed recycling, where recyclable components will be identified and recycled.
To maintain the park “looking its best” for the hundreds of visitors who attend daily to pay their respects to the late queen, who passed away on September 8 at Balmoral, age 96, Royal Parks workers and contractors “work around the clock.”
The Royal Parks, which oversees the designated memorial area in Green Park, has urged mourners to only “laid organic or biodegradable items” and to remove any packaging from flowers that have been left.
They said that while visitors may bring teddies and other plush toys if they so desired, they would “prefer” if they didn’t since it would be more environmentally friendly.
It is worried about the trash created when non-organic goods like plastic packaging left by sympathetic mourners are disposed of.
The organisation said that managing the massive amount of flowers and condolences placed in the Green Park Floral Tribute Garden was their “priority at the time.”
Until all ceremonial events have taken place, the tributes will remain at the location.
The removal of flowers from park areas is anticipated to take place seven to fourteen days following the funeral.
Flowers that have degraded will be taken out of the arrangement and processed so they may be composted.
‘In the interests of sustainability, we encourage visitors to only lay organic or biodegradable items,’ the nonprofit organisation said on its website.
The general public will be invited to leave flower tributes in the appropriate bins after removing any packaging.
“Removing the wrapping will help the flowers last longer and will help in future composting, which will commence between one week and a fortnight after the date of the burial,” the statement reads.
The Royal Parks said that while it is not forbidding people from leaving “small items” like stuffed animals and teddy bears, it “would prefer” that individuals leave flower tributes with the plastic wrapping removed.
We would ask guests not to bring non-floral items/artefacts like teddy bears or balloons, they said.
Cards and labels will be accepted, nonetheless, and may sometimes be removed for offsite storage by employees and contractors of The Royal Parks.
“This procedure will be conducted in a sensitive and discreet manner.”
However, owing to the animals in the parks, mourners are being warned not to leave marmalade sandwiches after the food was left as a tribute to the Queen’s affiliation with Paddington Bear.
The Royal Parks would prefer that visitors not leave toys or other artefacts, but they are not prohibited from doing so for sustainability concerns, according to a spokeswoman.
After the funeral, the flowers themselves will be taken out of the Floral Tribute Garden and composted at Kensington Gardens. The compost will then be utilised on landscaping and shrub planting initiatives across the Royal Parks.