Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (STH) NHS Foundation Trust

Background

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (STH) NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest of 152 NHS Foundation Trusts in the United Kingdom. With over 16,000 staff and 1 million patients cared for each year, it has five hospitals and additional satellite sites across Sheffield.

STH strives to ‘spend public money wisely’; a key objective noted within the requirements of the tender that Viridor successfully bid for in 2015. Viridor collects and treats over 2,500 tonnes of waste and recycling from STH each year.

Problems

Although STH had made considerable improvements in reducing waste to landfill in previous years, they were not recycling as much as they would have liked. The organisation required an overall rethink of their waste management requirements.

During the implementation phase of the new service getting staff and visitors to recycle more was relatively easy but maintaining the quality of the recycled material required a “quality not quantity” message.

Solutions

Identify recycling and recovery opportunities: When Viridor started working with STH they carried out an audit to identify improvements that would enhance the hospital’s environmental credentials and save unnecessary costs:

STH’s general waste is collected and bulked up at a local facility and transported for energy recovery at Viridor’s own facility in Runcorn, diverting the waste away from landfill or unsustainable export.
Recycling has more than doubled. Over 900 tonnes of material is now recycled every year. Mixed recycling, green waste and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are collected and sorted for reprocessing at Viridor’s local facility.
Cardboard is segregated for recycling on-site generating revenue rather than a cost.
The number of compactors used at STH has been increased to minimise vehicle movements on site and associated transport costs.

A flexible service

The local Viridor customer service and logistics teams, including the dedicated account manager, use their local knowledge to provide a timely and efficient service. As part of the contract between Viridor and STH contingency plans are in place in case of any emergency.

Increase understanding

Viridor works closely with STH, to develop messages for end users of the service; the doctors, nurses, domestic cleaning staff and hospital visitors who all produce waste. Viridor attends STH sustainability days to encourage positive environmental behaviour. Working together to make improvements that minimise costs and maximise environmental efficiencies benefits all partners.

Viridor is a partner of choice for the healthcare sector

As a preferred recycling and waste management supplier for the healthcare sector, Viridor builds on its considerable experience to offer the best possible service to its customers. Viridor is an approved supplier on the North of England NHS commercial procurement collaborative framework, and works with NHS and other healthcare suppliers across the UK.