9 go large on the 3Rs

The notion of "throwing away" is an entirely human construct. In the world beyond humans, everything is circular, is reused, recirculated, repurposed. So doing something about that is a pretty good thing to do.

On average, the NHS currently produces an estimated 156,000 tonnes of clinical waste every year from secondary care (based on ERIC data 2020/21). The estimated carbon impact of this waste is approximately 100,000 tonnes of CO2e per year. That's not even counting primary care.

Yet ...waste in primary is not its biggest problem. Not by a long way. The carbon impact of drugs is much worse. But waste and recycling is often the first thing people think of when they want to take action; it's the first thing that makes sense and feels within reach; and it's the first thing staff and patients expect their practice to be doing if it really takes climate and nature seriously. And crucially - this has health inequalities written all over it. There are plenty of people who just don't even have their fair share of stuff to begin with, much less have enough to recycle. So it's important to think this through. And there are a million ways we can get started.

One last thing. Recycling is - or should be - our last option. We need to reduce, and re-use, first. Recycling something takes energy and has impact too. If we don't need it in the first place - bingo!

re-duce ...

You can reduce your rubbish a dozen ways in the practice. First thing to do is see how much you're creating already. Ask your business or practice manager how much rubbish you create, how much it costs to have it taken away, and what sort of rubbish it is. Then you can start thinking about what you can reduce; what you can re-use; and only then what you can recycle. The sooner you reduce the amount of unnecessary stuff you're bringing in to the practice, the sooner you will see your waste tonnage - and bills - go down.

re - use ...

Good resource management is just common sense. Although maybe not that common. And it's also about fairness - sharing what we have to better end. One of the outrageous truths of the 2020s is that huge numbers of young girls don't go to school in the UK because they can't afford disposable sanitary products. So Emily started work on this: see below. And you can see the video clip under More Lovely Resources below, or here.

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re - cycle ...!

Ensuring you have a good recycling system is key to making sure that items aren't being thrown into general waste. Make sure you have multiple bins, clearly labelled with a list of what can go in them and remind staff regularly too! There are multiple organisations who recycle non-recyclable items for charity, or you can donate medical items to charities such as Interrcare.

A great way to start thinking about this is a mini waste audit. Simply pick a few bins to empty, get some gloves on, and sort through to investigate if it’s in the correct place. This should only take up to an hour of your time and is a great way to start conversations about waste reduction and recycling. Use this template to record the results and take some photos that can be shared with your colleagues. One Cornish practice audit revealed that about a third of the waste in the rubbish bins could have been recycled or composted. Changes are now afoot...

Get in touch with your Project Officer if you would like support to carry out a waste audit ... it's an eye-opener!