Learn more about our approach during Environment Week
Waste has a significant impact on the environment both in terms of its carbon footprint as well as wider impacts on the environment and biodiversity.
As a Trust, we use the hierarchy, reduce, reuse, recycle to drive the effective management of waste at UHSussex, reducing the overall amount of waste produced and ensuring it is disposed of by the most sustainable method.
Our specific aims, as outlined in the Patient First, Planet First Green Plan, are:
- To reduce our total waste year-on-year and increase recycling, with a reduction of waste sent to energy recovery by 2025
- To drive up reuse including equipment and pharmaceuticals
- To continuously improve and deliver best practice waste management across all of our sites, improving waste segregation year on year
Achievements so far
Reduce
From September 2021-2022, we have successfully reduced 6.5% of waste generated in clinical and domestic waste streams, equating to 230 tonnes.
This has been achieved by:
- Liaising with suppliers to limit the amount of packing associated to products, or taking away waste packaging once delivered
- Green ambassadors encouraging colleagues to take waste packaging home to dispose of
Reuse
The Trust has formed partnerships with several local charities, who support families of disabled children and young adults in Sussex – including helping them to learn a trade.
Items of damaged furniture are sent to the charities who repair them. To date, they have repaired and returned 132 items of furniture to the Trust for reuse.
Recycle
We all have a responsibility to dispose of waste safely and appropriately, and there are 22 hospital waste streams to help us get it right – encouraging recycling where possible.
Since 2021, our schemes have meant that 700 tonnes of clinical waste is now autoclaved (a machine that uses steam under pressure to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores on items), shredded and recycled instead of incineration
We have seen an increase from 15% to 33% of all generated waste being recycled.
Looking ahead
We aim to continue to increase the amount we recycle through a number of initiatives, including the introduction of recycling stations where paper, plastic and aluminium stay segregated within one bin, waste training for staff, working with the local disposal authority to increase the amount of materials that can be recycled, and continuing to work with suppliers to reduce the amount of waste packaging entering the Trust.