We’re not just here to look after patients when they become ill – we also want to improve the health of our communities and ensure our impact on the environment is beneficial to all.
As part of this, we’re committed to improving recycling to help keep the planet healthy.
This includes rolling out recycling hubs at Scunthorpe and Grimsby hospitals to encourage staff to recycle and asking staff to reuse furniture and other items where possible. We’re also helping staff to create their own dedicated recycling areas.
And now, as we celebrate National Recycle Week – which this year is focused on items that can be recycled but are commonly missed in the home – we’re stepping up our efforts even more.
Our Logistics and Waste Manager, Sally Yates, said: “Reducing our waste and increasing the amount we recycle is very important to us. We have a number of initiatives to encourage staff to recycle more.
We all know that increasing recycling has major benefits on the environment, which in turn has significant health benefits as poor environmental health contributes to a number of major conditions, including asthma, cancer and heart health.”
We also want to encourage anyone who has equipment they’ve loaned from us, such as walking aids, to return it to our Equipment Stores, so they can be reused. We’ve recycled more than 3,000 items so far this financial year.
We’ve recently won an award for the third year in a row for reducing, reusing and recycling our waste. We achieved four of a possible five stars in the Zero Waste Awards.
More than 380 tonnes of waste was recycled in the last financial year, saving us more than £46,000. We also saved more than £30,000 through furniture reuse. All the money we raise currently goes back into further environmental and recycling initiatives. This was more than £13,000 in the last financial year. Recycling increased by more than 9% in the last financial year.
Through our partnership with Jacob’s Wells, we also continue to donate old clinical uniforms to a hospital currently being equipped in Ghana.
For more information on Recycle Week, visit the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) website.