Clinical waste management needs a change of direction
In two decades, we have witnessed the change from on-site waste disposal on hospital grounds with incinerators that were too small for purpose. So, where are we heading next?
The 90s saw a move to the private sector to improve waste disposal, but even today, that’s about all that’s happening. The onus of waste segregation is left to the client: contractors usher in and collect the units, transfer them miles out for treatment, often shipping then onwards after that to waste transfer stations where they’re then sent to landfill or for incineration.
The costs to healthcare facilities are skyrocketing and the amount of waste sent to landfill isn’t reducing as fast as the planet needs it to be… change is needed!
A change of approach from singularly partnering with waste collection services to strategic partnerships with clinical waste management specialists can be a more beneficial process going forward
A more collaborative approach to the management of clinical waste involves various equally beneficial aspects: sharing pivotal knowledge about the best practices in clinical waste management to reduce waste at source; assisting in cost-efficient waste segregation; minimising transportation, and increasing the amount of waste sent for energy from waste/recovery.
By educating on waste stream types suited to alternative treatment and how to correctly segregate waste at source so that these correct waste streams are treated as they should allow for vast environmental improvements to be made.
It’s one thing to send trays of uneaten food to a compost station – it’s quite the other to transform clinical waste from trash to ash and in doing so achieve a combined weight reduction of just 25% incoming waste to residual ash…which is what ends up at a landfill. Do that in a healthcare setting that’s producing thousands of tonnes of clinical waste and the compounding effect is astronomical.
The more clinical waste is reduced through environmentally friendly procedures and efficient evaluation of waste streams, identification, segregation and correct disposal will serve to reduce both the costs of clinical waste disposal and better serve healthcare budgets as well as the wider environment.
Partnerships with knowledgeable experts are the fastest ways to see improvements. Not within five or ten years, but onward progress being made quarter by quarter
With such radical change necessary across healthcare, waste collection with only an audit trail is no longer an option. Waste management with a strong emphasis on strategic collaboration is what will drive the most impact – on the environment, and on the bottom line of every healthcare site. Offering clients in healthcare settings tracking technology so they can assess exactly where their waste is after it is collected from the site assists in the strategic collaboration to ensuring waste is disposed of in the correct manner.
Cliniwaste assists healthcare sites nationwide in making a positive change to their clinical waste management process. Our directors are hands-on, industry-award winners and driven by the need to
deliver sustainable practises in clinical waste management tailored to the needs of dwindling budgets.
When a major contractor collapsed previously, we stepped in to assist in the collection, treatment and disposal of waste contracts up and down the UK – this involved disposing of thousands of tonnes of stockpiled waste that had unfortunately been left at three UK sites as a result of this collapse. The clean-up operation took us just five months as a result of our dedicated team – all done using sustainable processes with the most positive environmental impact.
Our expertise is in alternative treatment – the more suitable waste we can source, the more impact our business will have on the environment.
Together, in partnership, shoulder-to-shoulder, we can be the change the industry needs.
Schedule a consultation with us by calling on +44 (0) 1501-747-502, or email us here.