August 24, 2021

Prisoners Build Prison Light Fixtures

British convicts in one prison produce approximately 100 LED retrofit kits per week.

According to UK government officials, prisoners in HMP Garth Prison, about 30 miles outside of Manchester, England, are building eco-friendly lights in-house, cutting prisons’ energy use and saving taxpayers’ money.

Offenders are assembling LED lights which reduce electricity consumption and are expected to save around £2.5m a year once rolled-out across the prison estate. The project to construct lights which meet vital Prison Service security standards was developed by Garth staff and led to a product that is 36% cheaper than the original design.

Garth Prison is a Category B prison holding 768 prisoners, as of June 30. The process works by manufacturing and then retrofitting LED gear-trays – metal plates which hold the light’s internal components – into prison cell light fittings, replacing the old fluorescent tubes. The replacement of 13,000 lights so far will reportedly save 1,180 tons of carbon per year, and 4,900 once all have been replaced.

The prison has bought components to retrofit 6,700 lights so far and prisoners are producing around 100 a week to install in the prison and elsewhere in the estate.

Around 50,000 old fluorescent lights in prisoners’ cells are to be replaced, with 13,000 changed to the energy efficient alternative and already saving £645,000 per year.

LED lights are also sent to Garth from other establishments for prisoners to repair and refurbish – further reducing waste and saving money.

Prisons and Probation Minister, Alex Chalk, said, “This is the latest example of prisons doing their bit to build back greener as we move towards a net-zero future. We know teaching prisoners new skills reduces reoffending, and this is an opportunity to combine learning with tackling climate change.”

Work to roll out production lines at further prisons is ongoing, with other sites to be announced in due course. The Prison Service is also aiming to replace tens of thousands of corridor lights as well as those in cells.

In May it was announced that the Government’s four new prisons will operate as zero-carbon in the future, with an all-electric design, solar panels, heat pumps and more efficient lighting systems to reduce energy demand significantly.

The environmentally friendly drive accompanies wider government action to build back greener with more than £12 billion in green investment to help achieve its net zero commitment.

Image source: Shutterstock