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This week, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB) is celebrating Wales Climate Week, by showcasing some of the excellent initiatives we have underway to support climate change and the green agenda.

CTMUHB’s Strategic Goals include becoming a green organisation and ensuring out estate is fit for the future.

We are also working to support the Welsh Government’s Net Zero target by 2050. You can read our Decarbonisation Strategy 2022-2030 HERE

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Virtual Conference 2024: Theme: Adapting to our changing climate

During Wales Climate Week, Welsh Government will be hosting a five-day virtual conference aimed at climate stakeholders with a role in delivering climate policies, programmes and initiatives.

The fourth day of the conference will focus on the impact of climate change on health and social care. The day will explore many topics including risks, adaptations and the co-benefits of climate action.

For more information about the sessions and to register, please click here

Our Environmental Waste and Fleet Management team is undertaking a number of initiatives and projects to ensure that we meet the goals set by Welsh Government for sustainable waste services.

CTM’s Environment Waste & Fleet Team Roadshow 2024

The Environment Waste & Fleet Team is hosting their annual EWF roadshow this week.

The team will be armed with freebies and games, and will be on hand to talk to staff and patients and to answer any waste or fleet related queries, provide advice on recycling, patient clinical home collections, waste projects, furniture removals and more. Each stand will also include a suggestion box to enable the team to collect feedback.

The roadshow team will be out and about on the following dates:

Monday 11th November, 10am – 2pm, Prince Charles Hospital Main Lift Area

Tuesday 12th November, 10am – 2pm, Ysbyty Cwm Cynon Main Reception

Wednesday 13th November, 10am – 2pm, Princess of Wales Hospital Main Reception

Thursday 14th November, 10am – 2pm, Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda Main Reception

Friday 15th November, 10am – 2pm, Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Catering Department

Batteries

All of our hospital sites now include battery recycling containers for free battery disposal. Each box includes a tester to allow people to check their battery life.

CTMUHB has recycled over four million batteries since 2016, which has earned us a Zero waste to Landfill certificate from Ecobat our battery recycling partner.

Bulk Cardboard

As a health board, we use a lot of cardboard each year. However, since 2023, we have partnered with Circular Economy Innovation Communities (CEIC) and Elite Animal Bedding, a local social enterprise, who repurpose our cardboard waste.

The cardboard is shredded and turned into animal bedding which is used by South Wales Police horses and dogs in their mounted and canine sections.

Our cardboard donations support Elite Animal Bedding, enabling the social enterprise to create local jobs and training opportunities for people. Find out more HERE

Food waste

We have been sending all leftover food waste to be recycled by Olleco since 2016.

The recycled food waste is processed in digestion plants by anaerobic digestion, which turns organic materials into biogas – a renewable fuel. Since 2016, CTMUHB has recycled over 250 tonnes of food waste! That’s the same weight as the Statue of Liberty, 40 African elephants or a fully loaded Boeing 747 Cargo plane.

Plastic

CTMUHB has been working with Elite and Pulse Plastics to identify a range of single use plastic items that can be repurposed in a welsh government funded SBRI project (Small Business Research Innovation)

By repurposing these items, we hope to divert clean plastics for repurpose in a spread and scale exercise across all CTMUHB sites and share with other Welsh health boards.

Recycling furniture

Since 2020, we have been working with Collecteco, a not-for-profit organisation who collect unwanted furniture.

In 2020 we received donations of desks, meeting room tables, chairs, filing cabinets and staff lockers, which redistributed Prince Charles Hospital. This means that we diverted 1913kg of furniture from going to landfill, saving CTMUHB £8K in new furniture costs.

In March 2024, we received 14 HVK beds which were distributed to site across the health board, diverting another 1120kg of furniture from going to landfill, and saving CTM £28K. We also received four sets of wall seating, tables and chairs which were sent to YCR Hospital site, diverting another 1100kg of furniture from being sent to landfill and saving us £10K.

In October 2024, the Seren Ward at Royal Glamorgan Hospital received donations of equipment and furniture from a number of local companies and organisations, organised in partnership with CTM’s Environment Waste and Fleet Team.

Recycling – Single Source Segregation

Since April this year, all non-bedded health care sites (e.g. clinics, offices, or anywhere that doesn’t offer beds for overnight patient stays) have been required to segregate waste into the following categories:

  • Plastics and cans
  • Paper and card
  • Food
  • Glass

Bedded sites (e.g. hospitals) will have until 2025/2026 to meet these changes.

The Environment Waste team embraced the challenge to ensure that the health board met the new waste legislation requirements.

We have adapted by changing labels on bins and buying centralised waste bins for offices and waiting rooms and communicating the changes in legislation to colleagues across the health board.

We have been collaborating with ELITE (a Merthyr Tydfil based social enterprise), and Pulse Plastics, on an innovative plastic waste separation project called FeedCycle.

CTMU has been recognised for our recycling work, with a nomination for a National Recycling Award, in the Social Value Award category.

Local engagement

The Environment Waste & Fleet Facilities Management team has been engaging with local stakeholders and partners including:

  • Working with several Merthyr Tydfil primary schools on a decarbonisation project
  • Supported employment opportunities with Elite Supported Employment and two SBRI funded projects with Pulse Plastics and Biochemistry. One project was entered for a special award in the Welsh NHS Sustainability Conference & Awards in June 2024, which recognises an individual or team that have gone above and beyond their everyday duties to deliver a sustainability project or make lasting change.
  • Waste and Fleet Roadshows – annual educational roadshows have been held at all hospital sites to inform staff, patients and visitors to CTMUHB about waste, patient home collections and the wider work of the Environment Waste & Fleet Facilities Management team.
  • The Environment Waste & Fleet Facilities Management team supported CTMUHB by attending the 2024 National Eisteddfod.

Calum Shaw, CTMUHB’s Sustainability Manager said: “Wales Climate Week is a great opportunity to highlight the exciting projects and partnerships happening across our health board, and the wider work that is taking place across Wales. I’d like to encourage staff and patients to drop in to our roadshow, and to take part in the Welsh Government’s Virtual Conference Health Day.”

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Team @ AberdareOnline

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