The scheme is intended to assist the hospital trust retain more funds to distribute on valuable services for the community.
The ‘Recycle Zones’, which are part of a collaboration between the trust, Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd, Wrap and Surrey County Council, will give staff, visitors and patients the opportunity to recycle their plastic bottles, cans and paper while on the move.
The hospital trust has adopted the innovative scheme driven by Coca-Cola Enterprises and Wrap (Waste & Resources Action Programme) to help reduce cost and ensure waste is diverted from landfill. The eco-programme has been welcomed by the hospitals’ 3,000 employees, who view the scheme as not only a cost saving, but also as a way for the departments to increase their overall waste efficiency.
William Britton, hotel services manager at Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We’re extremely excited to launch Recycle Zones within Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals. As part of a larger waste management initiative, the zones will help us reduce the amount of money spent on recyclable material that’s misplaced as household and clinical waste by 40% within the first year. This means approximately £5,000 per month can be injected back into the hospital. The Recycle Zones will help us to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, and we’re confident our visitors and staff will be making full use of these facilities.”
Erika Coghlan, VP Coca-Cola Enterprises, said: “We’re delighted that the Recycle Zones have been able to facilitate the waste management Initiative being undertaken by Ashford & St Peter’s Hospital NHS Trust. Not only will this help save the environment, but the innovative way in which the hospital trust has chosen to adopt the scheme will also help save valuable funding. People have increased their recycling at home and at work, but it’s less convenient to recycle when you’re ‘on the go’. Recycle Zones make it easy for people to choose to recycle precisely when they need to – just when they’ve finished their drink.”
Marcus Gover, director of market development at Wrap, said: “Wrap’s Recycle Now campaign has helped to make recycling an important part of our daily lives. Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals have a large workforce, a high number of visitors and many drinks outlets on both sites, making them ideal places to locate Recycle Zones. We hope to divert a high proportion of waste from landfill with this scheme.”
In partnership with recycling charity Recoup, Recycle Zone offers up to 10 days’ technical consultancy to each participating location to enable them to adopt best practice for collection and recycling for drinks cans and bottles.
Source: Chocolate Communications
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