Ahead of NHS Sustainability Day, Grundon Waste Management held an informative and practical webinar to discuss best practice ideas and innovations in healthcare waste management that are helping NHS trusts to reach sustainability targets whilst reducing costs.
The webinar enabled attendees to have a better understanding of the opportunities afforded by such initiatives and understand how to overcome some of the challenges and stumbling blocks that are often in the way. During the hour-long session, the panel of experts put forward and discussed topics such as:
- Reducing waste sent for high temperature incineration: how best to segregate waste to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions and increase cost savings.
- Increasing recycling rates: and recovery of wastes such as plastics, lighting, lamps, etc.
- Issues with mergers of NHS Trusts: alignment of procedures and best practice across sites.
- Joining the dots: there is a lack of connection between waste, procurement and services being delivered (by NHS Trusts). These connections need to be made to make any significant reductions in waste being produced.
- Internally driven improvements: these require resource, time and willing – difficult to achieve in a CIP culture and a system under strain just to deliver BAU.
- The perception of cost efficiencies: Why is it perceived that relatively low financial savings can be achievable through improved practice and how to overcome these objections?
