Hollywood Private Hospital is leading the way in waste management and recycling, with a range of initiatives across the campus helping to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint.
Hollywood’s Environmental Committee has led the sustainability movement, which has been embraced by every department, from engineering to catering.
Initiatives include cash for containers, PVC plastics being turned into garden hoses, the rollout of LED lighting and a TravelSmart program for staff.
Chief Executive Officer Peter Mott said these and many more environmentally friendly initiatives were making a significant impact at the hospital.
“The Ramsay Health Care Energy, Water and Waste Performance for the 2020 financial year (FY) showed reduced energy consumption and increased waste recycling at Hollywood,” Mr Mott said.
“Energy consumption reduced from 1,003,550 GJ in the 2019 FY to 992,155 GJ last financial year.
“Electricity use decreased by more than 3 million kWh and water use was reduced by about 19082 kL. Waste recycling went up four per cent, from 40 per cent to 44 per cent.
“These results are outstanding, especially considering the growth of staff and infrastructure at the campus.”
Above :Engineering Manager Rohit Jethro with Hollywood Private Hospital’s sustainability results.
Ramsay Health Care Chief Operating Officer of Hospitals, Greg Hall, said Caring for Our Planet was one of the three pillars of Ramsay Health Care’s sustainability program.
“We acknowledge that climate change is a critical issue so we are focused on minimising our greenhouse gas emissions, cutting energy and water use, slashing our use of unnecessary plastics and increasing our recycling and sustainability initiatives,” Mr Hall said.
“We actively seek opportunities to engage with ethical and responsible suppliers who commit to improving their sustainability performance and deliver sustainable products.”
Mr Hall said it was part of Ramsay Health Care’s commitment to making a meaningful, positive difference for current and future generations.
Supply department
Supply and Purchasing Manager Robin Archer said recycling did require strategic organisation, but on a large-scale campus, the benefits were huge.
“Items such as batteries have to be in peak efficiency for use in medical equipment and are replaced regularly,” Mr Archer said.
“We test the used batteries and those with less than 80 per cent charge are sent to an industrial recycling company for disposal.
“Batteries with more than 80 per cent charge are sold to staff at 10 cents each for household use”.
“All proceeds go to the Hollywood Private Hospital Research Foundation.”
Medical equipment and surgical supplies that are past their expiry date are donated to animal welfare groups to help treat injured animals.
Parking department
Hollywood has about 2000 staff who are encouraged to leave their cars at home with an incentive program called TravelSmart. Staff are rewarded for taking alternative modes of transport to work such as riding a bike or taking public transport. About 400 staff take advantage of this offer.
Above: TravelSmart encourages Hollywood Private Hospital staff to ride a bike or use public transport to get to work.
Catering department
Hollywood Private Hospital has been heavily involved in a Ramsay Health pledge to remove 24 million single-use plastic items every year from its Australian operations.
Catering Manager Peter Trusler said water jugs have replaced plastic water bottles in patient rooms and environmentally-friendly alternatives have replaced plastic drinking cups, cutlery, plates and straws.
Above:Catering Manager Peter Trusler with water jugs for patients.
“If staff choose to use takeaway compostable containers they pay extra – with the proceeds going to the research foundation,” Mr Trusler said.
“We send the used containers and catering department organic waste to a commercial composting facility.
“Staff are then able to purchase $10 bags of treated compost for their gardens.
“The money raised is donated to the research foundation.”
Mr Trusler said staff also wore fabric reusable hair nets instead of disposable hair nets to reduce waste and landfill.
Above: Catering staff replaced disposable hair nets with fabric alternatives.
Engineering department
Engineering Manager Rohit Jethro said significant progress had been made in reducing carbon emissions through decreased electricity consumption over the past three financial years.
“We enjoyed an electricity reduction of 43 kWh per square metre, which equates to a total annual reduction of 2500 Tons of carbon emissions,” Mr Jethro said.
“The savings have equated to roughly a month of free electricity each year for the past three financial years.”
The results were achieved by introducing energy efficient equipment and processes, such as the rollout of LED lighting, timers on lights and reducing air conditioning in non-essential areas.
