Urban cidermakers, Hawkes, is making a stand against apple wastage. With over 2.5 million apples going to waste in the UK, this urban cidery is calling for the nation to take charge of wasted apples’ destiny, by introducing an apple mail-in box.

As a pint-loving nation, Hawkes knows we don’t want to see any cider to go to waste. The brand-new apple mail-in box encourages Brits across the UK to join in on saving perfectly good apples, simply by ordering online and filling it up, with up to 10kg of apples.

Hawkes was born out of founder Simon Wright’s realisation that the people of London had thousands of apple trees, spread across allotments, gardens and growing wild. While Londoners had the apples, they didn’t always know what to do with them. Many would be left to rot. Until Hawkes started making cider.

From 2019’s apple drive, Hawkes created a cider, called THIS IS LONDON, which launches on Thursday (13th). In order to understand the real terroir of London Apples, Hawkes fermented all the London apples together to create a cider made of 100% donated London apples. Available in UK bars and online, 100% of the profits are donated to Social Orchards Urban Planting. The charity recognises the benefits that an orchard can bring to a community and is dedicated to the aim – to ensure every household in the UK’s town and cities be within walking distance of a productive, well-cared-for, community-run orchard.

The new mail-in box opens up donations nationwide. Dependent on the number of donations, Hawkes hopes to produce localised ciders to add to the THIS IS…range next year, with a hope to engage cities all over the UK.

To launch the new cider, and demonstrate the extent of the waste, Hawkes will be throwing 5000 pints of cider down the drain from the Cidery in Bermondsey on Thursday 13th August. 2.5 Million apples are wasted every day, and no-one bats an eyelid. But what about 5000 pints of cider? To avoid waste, Hawkes is challenging London to save the cider, by heading down, grabbing a glass and filling it up for free.

Simon Wright, founder of Hawkes says “The year I started our Cidery I spent my whole summer driving round picking up unloved apples, and there were so many more that I just couldn’t manage. This year we’re making a bold statement, to show the people of the UK how bad apple wastage is in our country. Now it’s up to you, to send us your apples!”

To donate some apples simply visit WeAreHawkes.com, order a box, and send it back via pre-paid courier.