Back to awards
Best Recycling Initiative of the Year Gold Winner graphic

NHS ENGLAND 2024

Gold Winner — Excellence in Waste Management

LabCycle is a gold winner for Best Recycling Initiative of the Year at the Awards for Excellence in Waste Management for NHS England.

Funded by SBRI Healthcare, we recycled over 200kg of plastic waste that would have otherwise been incinerated, saving over 600kg of carbon during a four-month pilot. The recycled plastics were characterised by iCAST (Innovation Centre for Applied Sustainable Technologies), which demonstrated their suitability to be turned into lab-grade consumables in a circular economy approach.

PLASTIC RECYCLED
200kg+
CARBON SAVED
600kg+
SORTING ACCURACY
99%

This achievement would not have been possible without the incredible efforts of our partners: NHS Blood and Transplant (Bristol), Health Innovation West of England and Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex.

Together, we're helping to advance sustainability across the research and healthcare sector. This award is a testament to our shared commitment to reducing the NHS carbon footprint and making a positive impact for a greener, more sustainable future.

Thank you to NHS England for the award, to the sponsors Sharpsmart UK and Biffa, and a massive congratulations to all the other winners.

JUDGES' COMMENTS

The award recognises their ground-breaking collaboration with LabCycle, where they implemented an onsite sorting system supported by SBRI Healthcare Net Zero funding. The team trained staff and installed recycling bins to effectively tackle plastic waste. By auditing 106 waste items, they identified 60 as recyclable, achieving an impressive 99% accuracy in sorting plastics like PP, PS, HDPE, and PET.

Their innovative approach not only converts waste into high-grade plastic for medical products but also establishes a closed-loop circular economy with the potential for significant large-scale impact.

See all the winners

FROM THE DAY

The LabCycle team holding the gold award trophy at the awards backdrop, and the Gold Winner presentation on stage
Collecting the gold award with our partners at the Awards for Excellence in Waste Management.