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HMP Garth prisoners have become the first to build environmentally friendly lights inside, thereby reducing energy use in the prison and saving taxpayers money.

HMP Garth prisoners have become the first to build environmentally friendly lights inside, thereby reducing energy use in the prison and saving taxpayers money.

The perpetrators are assembling LED lights. The electricity consumption of these lights has been reduced by 62%. Once launched across the prison, it is expected to save approximately £2.50 a year.

Garth staff developed a project to build a lamp that meets the safety standards of important prison services. The product is 36% cheaper than the original design.

So far, the prison has purchased parts for retrofitting 6,700 lights, and prisoners produce about 100 lights a week for installation in prisons and other places in the manor.

Approximately 50,000 old fluorescent lamps in prisoners’ cells will be replaced, of which 13,000 will be replaced by energy-saving alternatives, saving £645,000 each year.

LED lights are also sent to Garth from other locations for inmates to repair and refurbish-further reducing waste and saving money.

The Minister of Prisons and Probation, Alex Jok, said:

This is the latest example of the prison's contribution to building a greener environment as we move towards a net-zero future.

We know that teaching prisoners new skills can reduce recidivism. This is an opportunity to combine learning with climate change

Work is underway to roll out production lines in more prisons, and other locations will be announced in due course. The prison administration also plans to replace tens of thousands of corridor lights and lights in cells.

The new energy-efficient lighting was launched after it was announced that 16,000 solar panels will be installed in 19 prisons in England in the coming months. This will reduce more than 1,300 tons of carbon and provide 20% of electricity for each prison.

It was announced in May that the government’s four new prisons will operate as zero-carbon prisons in the future, using all-electric designs, solar panels, heat pumps, and more efficient lighting systems to significantly reduce energy requirements.

The environmental movement is accompanied by broader government actions, with more than £12 billion in green investment to help achieve its net-zero commitment.

This will create up to 250,000 high-skilled green jobs and stimulate the private sector to invest more than £40 billion in the UK.

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