Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre is expanding its green credentials by joining Plymouth’s Plan for Plastics.
The city-wide initiative is designed to tackle the issues of single-use plastics and plastic pollution and has already resulted in Plymouth being awarded Plastic-Free Community status by Surfers Against Sewage.
In April, Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre created its own Green Team in anticipation of joining Plymouth’s Plan for Plastics.
The team has already replaced plastic drinking cups with recyclable paper ones and every department has its own recycling bin to encourage hospital-wide recycling.
The hospital also uses a range of battery-operated equipment, and all batteries can now be recycled.
And plastic used in the operating theatres is recycled where possible and the hospital’s waste is sorted on site.
As well as concentrating on recycling and reuse, the Peninsula Green Team has added planted areas to the hospital grounds, with additional initiatives to encourage wildlife, including bird feeders, one of which has been made by the father of the hospital’s ward manager.
And the team takes on maintenance activities, such as picking up litter from around the site, and will encourage other members of staff to take part.
Furthermore, most lights in the hospital are set to only switch on when someone enters a room and all staff are encouraged to share transport to work, with the hospital offering a scheme to help members of staff buy bicycles to use on their commute into work.
Mark White, hospital director at Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre, said: “As a team we are dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint, lowering our use of plastic, and working to be environmentally sound and sustainable.”
