Recommendation & Monitoring

Recommendations

Productivity

Employ superior, consistent data from all NHS entities/ICSs for informed decision-making and active risk management.
Foster a skilled, diverse waste management workforce with proper support and clear career trajectories.
Enhance compliance by ensuring all NHS staff comprehend and follow regulatory guidelines.
Formulate a plan to incorporate fundamental waste management training into induction programs for all NHS staff (NHS,2023)

Resilience

Establish a commercial model that delivers better value
Support the standardization of waste management arrangements
Develop resilient infrastructure that meets future demand
Invest in clinical waste infrastructure to increase capacity and regional resilience and support sustainable waste processing practices (NHS,2023)

Sustainability

Improve our use of resources and reduce carbon impact
Proactively work to reduce harmful emissions, improve local air quality, and achieve the 2045 net zero carbon target
Preventing detrimental emissions from the waste value chain, enhancing air quality, and promoting better public health outcomes.
Increasing awareness of sustainability concerns and elevating the significance of the waste manager position (NHS,2023)

The NHS Waste Management Strategy

The NHS has unveiled initiatives to enhance waste management practices, including providing all NHS providers with skilled Waste Managers and offering Waste Management training courses. They will also promote the 20-20-60 waste segregation method to lower expenses and minimize environmental impacts. Managing waste contracts will be a top concern for all NHS Trusts, while the organization will also investigate cutting-edge technologies to manage infectious waste on-site and enable them to handle their own processing facilities(NHS,2023).

The 20-20-60 division comprises:

20% of waste directed to high-temperature incineration
20% of waste allocated to alternative treatment
60% of waste categorized as offensive waste, which can be transformed into energy

Waste Data Reporting

Establish standardized waste data reporting system in the NHS that requires regular and transparent central report of the waste data.

Annual clinical waste monitoring report and review to monitor the quality of the data reported

In the EU, data reporting is responsible for 90 million jobs (Härting and Sprengel, 2019)

Data analytics provides insight to make strategic adjustments by the NHS who can quantify gains from analyzing data reports leading to average 10% reduction in costs each year (phocassoftware)

Waste prevention & Recycling

Resource-based taxes to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emission
Reselling used medical devices
TrashBot - Smart bins for recycling using AI, robotics and machine learning with 95% accuracy (Clean Robotics, n.d.)

Waste Treatment

Use no-burn alternatives instead of incinerators as autoclaving, microwaving, steam treatment integrated with internal mixing, or chemical treatment.
Waste segregation by color code
Reuse by sterilization of equipments (Aldoori, Hartley and MacFie, 2021)

Involve Stakeholders

Training and educational campaigns across the NHS to for the waste data collection and analysis as well as the waste recycling and handling
Continue to investment in the R&D and implementation of waste disposal and other green technologies
Collaborate with key stakeholders to create a real-time system for tracking clinical waste from generation to disposal

(NHS,2023)

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Percentage of NHS providers with a designated individual for data reporting
Percentage of trusts and foundation trusts adhering to the new waste data quality standard
Percentage of trusts and foundation trusts submitting monthly information to the NHS waste database
Percentage of NHS providers appointing a waste manager or accountable person per standardized job description and capability framework
Percentage of new NHS employees receiving basic waste management training during their induction program

Percentage of NHS staff aware of segregation protocols (kg per patient)
Percentage of NHS providers with up-to-date average cost (£ per ton) for managing clinical waste
Percentage of NHS trusts/providers outsourcing waste management services
Average contract length (years) for waste management services
Total on-site waste treatment capacity (tons per year)
Annual increase in national clinical waste treatment capacity (tons per year)

Percentage of clinical waste sent to third-party treatment facilities
Percentage of NHS providers with sustainability target plans in place, tracking key metrics and surpassing minimum standards
Percentage of NHS providers meeting their sustainability goals
Percentage of NHS providers appointing clinical and non-clinical sustainability leads for waste management innovation and implementation
Percentage of NHS providers utilizing reusable sharps containers