Our Sustainability
Sharpsmart is committed to leading the healthcare waste industry in innovation and practices that minimise ecological impact. Through superior technology, reusable products, segregation and recycling initiatives, our solutions minimise landfill, manufacturing excess and CO2 emissions.
Prioritising Sustainability
What Does the Research Say About Our Sustainability?
T Grimmond, et al. British Medical Journal Open
‘Adopting reusable sharps containers is an example of a sustainable purchasing decision that can assist trusts in meeting NHS greenhouse gas reduction targets and can reduce global warming potential permanently with minimal staff behavioural change.’
The results of the quoted study demonstrate that annually for every 100 beds you could:
- Reduce your carbon footprint by 11.2 tonnes of CO₂e.
- Eliminate the incineration of 3.1 tonnes of plastic.
- Eliminate the use of 0.5 tonnes of cardboard.
- Eliminate the manufacture of 5,837 single-use sharps containers
Waste Reduction
A peer-reviewed study
Reusable sharps containers helped this hospital cut related CO2 emissions by 90%.
Introduction of the Sharpsmart sharps containers helped the hospital achieve:
- An 83% reduction in CO2 emissions in the first year.
- A 90% reduction in CO2 emissions in the following years.
- A 35% decrease in weight of sharps waste stream.
Waste Elimination
A case study
An annual reduction of 11.8 tonnes of plastic and 1.1 tonnes of cardboard through the elimination of disposable containers.
The Sharpsmart sharps container system:
- Reduced CO₂e by 109.80 tonnes per annum – a 91% reduction.
- Reduced landfilled waste by 13 tons of plastic and 1.3 tons of cardboard annually.
- Eliminated container-associated sharps injuries. • Reduced sharps container and disposal costs.
Waste Diversion
A Case Study
A 95% diversion of healthcare waste from high-temperature incineration.
Since introducing the Sharpsmart Bag-to-Bed system, this hospital didn’t only meet its 20-20-60 waste split targets, it exceeded them. Staff experience also improved as a result of the improved training opportunities and educational material available.
The hospital’s impressive achievements include:
- A 95% diversion of healthcare waste from high-temperature incineration.
- An annual reduction of 19,000 road miles.
- A 67% diversion from HTI across all North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust sites.
Our Sustainability Playbook
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Net Zero Carbon Emissions
We will strive to reduce our internal carbon emissions to ‘net zero’ by cutting our energy/fuel use, switching to low-carbon energy sources, and, finally, offsetting any residual carbon emissions.
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Zero Waste to Landfill
We will strive to eliminate, and/or divert all waste into the most sustainable outlets through the redesign of our products/processes and collaborating with forward-thinking partners.
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Build a Sustainable Value Chain
Our vision is to provide all our customers with a true circular economy service through driving change within our supply chain and taking a whole value chain approach to sustainability.
Take the Greening of your waste to The Next Level.
Sharpsmart are committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040 and to help us reach our ambitious targets we’ve created our sustainability playbook – the above three core goals that underpin our route to Net Zero.
Fancy some extra reading on our net zero ambition? Find out more by reading our carbon reduction plan.
To learn more about modern waste containment that drives the highest levels of GHG + CO2 Emissions reduction in the Industry, reach out to one of our environmental experts.