Gold Winner – Excellence in Waste Management for NHS England 2024

🏆 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 4-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.

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

👉 Learn More: Visit https://ascentevents.co.uk/wma-awards/#winners