The Bairnsdale Regional Health Service has become a Bronze Waste Wise hospital. Cr Robert Nettleton presented the certificate to the Chief Executive Officer Wayne Sullivan at a special morning tea to celebrate the wonderful achievement.
The hospital annually recycles 19,314 Kg, this includes paper, cardboard, toner cartridges, commingle recycling, kitchen organics, garden waste and scrap steel. This is slightly more than a third of the overall waste generated annually is recycled and diverted from landfill.
Cr Robert Nettleton and Board member of the Gippsland Regional Waste Management Group spoke about the successful delivery of the Waste Wise Program through the hard work and efforts of the Natural Resources Committee, supported by all the staff at the hospital.
The Natural Resources Committee lead by Matt Mason the Infection Control Clinical Nurse Consultant, is made up of volunteers from Leadership and Management, Hotel Services, Facilities, Supply, Infection Control and Nursing areas of management .
The Committee have encouraged the hospital staff to think about their actions and apply the Waste Wise messages of reduce, reuse and recycle. Many initiatives have been implemented.
A waste audit was originally conducted last year to help determine the benchmark for change. There has also been a clinical waste audit undertaken. These measures have provided the Committee with the raw data that provided the catalyst for change. An environmental policy is developing out of these positive actions.
The Cafeteria installed recycling bins and encourages reuse of cups and introduced paper based recyclable catering supplies. Some of the surgical stainless high grade steel equipment is recycled. The kitchen scraps along with the garden waste are composted and then put back onto the hospital gardens. The Rotomah ward has implemented commingled recycling.
KimGuard a plastic wrap product, some of it is being collected and recycled and made into outdoor furniture.
The hospital is showing leadership in environmental management and is keen to keep on refining and making improvements to current practices.
The Waste Wise Program is managed by Sustainability Victoria and is delivered in Gippsland by the Regional Waste Management Group. The Waste Wise program is about reducing waste through a step by step action plan process.
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Becoming Waste Wise 