Here at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, we’re not only committed to caring for patients – we also do our bit to keep the planet healthy too.
Earlier this year, we were the only hospital trust to be recognised by the judges in the Zero Waste Awards for our efforts to stop sending waste to landfill and reduce our environmental impact.
And now, as we celebrate National Recycle Week – which this year is focused on climate crisis – we’re stepping up our efforts even more.
Our Logistics and Waste Manager, Sally Yates, said: “It’s important to us that we’re not only here to treat you when you’re ill but that we help to prevent you from becoming ill in the first place.
“Reducing our waste and increasing the amount we recycle has significant health benefits, as poor environmental health contributes to a number of major conditions, including asthma, cancer and heart health.”
Some of the ways we are doing this is by encouraging staff to reuse furniture and buy reusable water bottles. Hospital beds that are still in good working order and clinical items such as dressings are sent to Third World countries via a local charity. Any clinical or domestic waste we produce is either recycled, reused or sent to energy recovery.
We have also rolled out recycling hubs at Scunthorpe and Grimsby hospitals to encourage staff to recycle and increased the amount of furniture we can reuse. All of our single-use instruments are now sterilised before being recycled as scrap metal. We recycle drinks and milk bottles and many other items of plastic including bed headboards. We also segregate our metals and non-metals.
Mrs Yates added: “Achieving zero waste to landfill is very important to us and is a large part of our commitment to making our Trust greener. In line with the NHS Green agenda, we’re also looking at other ways we can be more ecologically aware, including ways to reduce our travel, waste and energy.
“We are also investing £40.3 million in making our three main hospital sites more energy efficient, reducing our carbon footprint by 5,000 tonnes a year – the equivalent of 300 typical UK households.”
You can read more about these plans HERE.
For more information on Recycle Week, visit the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) website.
