Western Health has been going green over the past few months with the establishment of a Green Team for the organization. The Green Team has been providing leadership and direction to many areas of the organization with an emphasis on the basics of any environmental action, “reduce, re-use and recycle.”
Western Health has been going green over the past few months with the establishment of a Green Team for the organization. The Green Team has been providing leadership and direction to many areas of the organization with an emphasis on the basics of any environmental action, “reduce, re-use and recycle.”
A number of ongoing initiatives highlight the success of the Green Team and the interest and the commitment to environmental action by employees of Western Health.
“People all throughout our organization are taking steps to be more environmentally friendly and take better care of our environment,” said Brian Moores, Regional Director of Health Protection and Green Team member. “It has been amazing to see the interest in environmental initiatives that staff have shown and their commitment to making Western Health a more environmentally friendly place to work.”
Dr. Minnie Wasmeier, a member of the Green Team stated, “Western Health has taken steps to improve air quality by implementing a No Idling Policy for cars located at entrances to our buildings. We also have a Smoke Free Work Environment Policy and next month on July 1st, we will be instituting a Smoke Free Properties Policy.”
One of the areas of focus has been waste reduction. Although waste varies in most Western Health facilities, the largest amount of waste generated is paper. Western Health has 60 sites throughout the region that handle varying amounts of recyclable paper waste. Everything from shipping and receiving, administrative offices to medical clinics, generate large amounts of recyclable materials. Employees of Western Health are conscious of the amount of paper waste generated and have been identifying to the Green Team opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle paper.
As a result, a strategy is being implemented to reduce paper waste by:
• Expanding existing paper recycling programs, where possible, to more facilities throughout the region
• Ensuring that paper waste reduction programs are established in all new facilities such as the Humberwood Centre and the new Long-term Care Centre.
• Providing employees with access to the internal e-mail system and the organization’s intranet site where forms and documents can be viewed and distributed electronically.
• Purchasing printing and copying equipment that is capable of double sided printing.
• Promoting initiatives that all staff can include into their daily activities to reduce and reuse paper waste such as asking staff to think before they print, printing double sided documents, reviewing and editing documents before printing, and reusing waste paper, file folders and envelopes.
In the Nutrition and Food Services Departments, there are kitchens at 9 sites within the region and much potential to produce large amounts of waste. Actions are however, being taken to reduce our impact on the environment. Staff are trained in waste segregation techniques: we recycle all beverage containers, use a garborator when possible and recycle waste paper products. By using a garborator, we are reducing the volume of waste we send to landfill. We advocate with suppliers to minimize packaging and buy locally whenever possible. The assortment of chemicals used is also limited. Staff are encouraged to prepare only the amount of food required and to limit leftovers/wastage when preparing product.
In Physical Infrastructure Support Department, staff have utilized both waste reduction and system optimization best practises to reduce emissions as a result of decreasing energy consumption. A recent notable mention in the anticipated reduction of fuel oil use at Western Memorial Regional Hospital based on comparable heating degree days and operational production data. Not only is Western Health reducing environmentally damaging emissions but we are providing a more effective and reliable heating environment for our patients, clients and residents.
Western Health is proud of the efforts of the Green Team and all staff throughout the region who have led and supported efforts, big or small, to reduce our impact on the environment.
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For more information contact:
Heidi Staeben-Simmons, Western Health
709-637-5252