9 reducing, reusing & recycling

The notion of "throwing away" is an entirely human construct. In the world beyond humans, everything is circular, is reused, recirculated, repurposed. So doing something about that is a pretty good thing to do.

Waste and recycling is often the first thing people think of when they want to take action; it's the first thing that makes sense and feels within reach; and it's the first thing staff and patients expect their practice to be doing if it really takes climate and nature seriously. And crucially - this has health inequalities written all over it. There are plenty of people who just don't even have their fair share of stuff to begin with, much less have enough to recycle. So it's important to think this through. And there are a million ways we can get started.

One last thing. Recycling is - or should be - our last option. We need to reduce, and re-use, first. Recycling something takes energy and has impact too. If we don't need it in the first place - bingo!

re-duce ...

Good resource management is just common sense. Although maybe not that common. And it's also about fairness - sharing what we have to better end. One of the outrageous truths of the 2020s is that huge numbers of young girls don't go to school in the UK because they can't afford disposable sanitary products. So Emily and Annette started work on this: see below. And you can see the video clip under More Lovely Resources below, or here.

re - use ...

There is an unimaginable amount of kit we can reuse if we sent our mind to it. We're starting on wound kits, coil kits, sanitary products, insulated cups, and meds bags for street homeless people... what can you think of? :)

re - cycle ...!

And we're supporting recycling bins and processes for compost, paper, card, PPE, plastics and more. What do you need? Contact Annette our Waste Lead for help, and in the meantime, download our fab free posters below!

Fab free posters!

Fancy a waste audit?

Doing a mini waste audit in your practice is a good place to start. Simply pick a few bins to empty and sort through to investigate if it’s in the correct place. This should only take up to an hour of your time and is a great way to start conversations about waste reduction and recycling. Use this template to record the results and take some photos that can be shared with your colleagues. The Leatside Surgery audit revealed that about a third of the waste in the rubbish bins could have been recycled (or composted). This led to more changes in the practice to encourage more recycling.

You can download our bespoke posters above to help you engage more staff!

And our fab colleague Dr Matt Sawyer of SEE Sustainability has even more resources on his excellent

website - don't miss out! You can check them out here.

Get in touch with your Project Officer if you would like support to carry out a waste audit.

New Rubbish Rules En Route

Simpler Recycling rules are effective (in England) from end March 2025. All businesses - including health organisations across primary care - will need to separate waste into the main recycling streams, including food waste. Spot checks will be carried out and fines could be issued if waste is not separated sufficiently. These changes can save money as they encourage you to recycle more. On average, recycling costs about one third less than the cost of General Waste. The main change is how to manage food waste.

Many practices will choose to compost their food waste which is cheaper and better for the environment. Get in touch if you need help getting started with composting. Why not do a Waste Audit to help you manage the changes? Simply go through a few bins and identify the types of waste. One practice found that a third of the waste could’ve been recycled or composted! Email for a simple waste audit form and for further support.