One person’s trash is another’s treasure

“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure” – That is the motto  South Yorkshire Police Officers are now taking when they dismantle cannabis factories across South Yorkshire.

With thousands of pounds worth of equipment, fertilizer and plant food needed to set up a successful cannabis farm, officers are no longer sending it to landfill but donating it to charities and community projects who can put it to a much better use.

One such project is the Owd Martha’s Yard community garden in Hoyland. On Wednesday 8 July 2020 officers gifted boxes of plant food and compost that had been recovered from a raid on a local cannabis farm.

Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings visited Owd Martha’s yard earlier this year and welcomes putting the recovered items to good use. He said: “Owd Martha’s Yard is a wonderful community garden that I had the pleasure of visiting before lockdown. It is run by a fantastic group of volunteers and puts smiles on many faces.

“I look forward to visiting the garden again as soon as I can to see it in full bloom.

“It is great to see them benefitting from the take-down of criminal enterprise and using the equipment to create joy not misery.”