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Emergency Department's war on waste

Tuesday, 12 March 2019

Green Champions Group

Meet our Emergency Department (ED) green champions - a group of environmentally-minded nurses, PSAs, cleaners and doctors.

When they aren't busy saving lives, the group is looking for ways to reduce the organisation's carbon footprint, starting with the removal of the department's annual supply of nearly 150,000 disposable cups from the staff tea room and patient care areas.

Most recently the group developed a structured 12-month waste reduction plan, which will see the implementation of recycling into drug rooms and a reduction in clinical waste.

Registered nurse and green champions lead Jacqui Dunn said the team share a common goal to see Barwon Health as a leader in sustainability. “By changing small parts of our practice, we are contributing to better patient care by looking after their community and attempting to create a healthier environment.”

Elsewhere across the organisation, staff should continue separating items into the correct waste bins and maintain our recycling, as our providers who do all Barwon Health's collections  are still recycling locally – despite other parts of the state placing recycling on hold.