Heartbeat: Cardboard waste recycling – your support is required

May 1, 2019

Colleagues across the Trust are being encouraged to break down cardboard waste that is generated from deliveries before it goes off site to be recycled.

Heartbeat caught up with Dawn Hall, Waste and Decommissioning Manager who explained more. She said: “The recycling of the cardboard is not an issue in itself. 95 per cent of the Trust’s overall domestic waste, including cardboard, is recycled. The main issue is how we manage the collection, storage and disposal of cardboard.

“Inappropriate disposal of cardboard and the failure to flat-pack it properly, creates a number of issues. It presents a serious fire risk, as well as being unsightly.

Cardboard is also often being left in roll-cages rather than broken down, flattened and put into the green bins provided. Leaving boxes on top of bins creates problems for the safe disposal of other waste streams and impacts on waste collections.”

Cardboard packaging within the Trust has quadrupled over the past five years and it has become a constant struggle to maintain a relatively cardboard-free environment. Therefore, it’s important to recycle cardboard as efficiently as possible.

Cardboard is incredibly light and strong, but unless flat-packed it remains full of air. This makes it costly to dispose of. Even when flat-packed, an average 1110 litre bin holds just 40kg’s of cardboard.

A simple tool can be provided to help cut through any tape, enabling boxes to be flattened with minimal effort. To request one, please contact supplies on ext.4938.

For further information or assistance, please contact Dawn Hall, Waste and Decommissioning Manager at dawn.hall@nhs.net.