Most of us are eager to live more sustainably. We’ve been great at changing up our habits at home and implementing measures as part of our day to day, such as recycling, turning off the tap while we’re brushing our teeth and throwing in a few meat-free days here and there.
Establishing the same sort of actions into your busy practice isn’t necessarily as straight forward, but it does present an opportunity to have an even greater positive impact on the environment!
We’ve pulled together ideas and resources for you to review what you can put in place. Many of these suggestions can also be adopted in our personal lives, so you might like to share them with your team and maybe even your patients/clients in your next newsletter or email update!
Recycling Programs
E-waste… When you replace computers, monitors and printers etc, you’re probably very conscious of needing to get rid of the old models, particularly as they take up so much space! You might not realise though that Officeworks have great e-waste recycling programs, including smaller items like cables, chargers and mice. You can find out more detail here.
Officeworks also have programs for printer & ink cartridges, mobile phones & accessories, batteries and even pens & markers!
Another option for your mobile phones & accessories, is MobileMuster, with collection points at phone retailers, as well as mailing options – either packaging and sending yourself, using a mailed out satchel or collecting a satchel from Australia Post or JB Hi-Fi.
Aldi stores take batteries, and some local Councils have collection points at libraries and other facilities.
And check out your local Council’s information about recycling programs for things like light globes, as well as what’s okay to go into which bin – something many of us find confusing!
The Banish Recycled and Disposal Program (BRAD) is an end-to-end solution for some of those hard-to-recycle household items such as blister packs, toothpaste tubes, lotion bottles, coffee pods, bread tags and more.
Terracycle provides information about programs supported by a range of retailers – including Colgate, Chemists’ Own and Gillette for hard-to-recycle waste streams.
And David Jones has their Beauty Cycle program, allowing us to recycle all our beauty packaging – of any brand – instore.
It’s worth researching your local supermarket too, for information on their collection programs. For example, their soft plastics collections generally include things like bubble wrap, bread bags and cereal box liners. Checkout REDcycle for more information.
Developing a recycling/waste disposal policy can also help to guide your team members and ensure that they’re all on the same page and they can remain accountable. You can create your recycling management policy with our free Policy & Procedure Template, and find out more by checking out ‘The How-to of Policies & Procedures’.
Day to Day Sustainability Actions
Smaller measures can seem like they may not have a big impact, but the cumulative impact can be significant.
The below mix of suggestions are already being used in some practices - and you’ll find that some can even result in time and cost savings – even better!
E-fax, Argus, Medical Objects etc
Recycling bins in consult rooms and a big one in the kitchen
Coffee pod recycling
Installing blinds and window tinting for heat management
Mulching garden beds
Water tanks
Solar panels
Recycled copy and toilet paper
Turning off power points and lights
Filtered on-tap water (for the waiting room) or refilled and refrigerated water bottles (for the team)
Patient info sheets – internal or from reps etc as PDFs you can email out
Using natural lighting as much as possible
Chat with your suppliers on how both of you can reduce waste and carbon footprint through the delivery process.
Offer empty boxes to people in your community
Purchase plants to display around the practice (or if you have the space, planting some outside!)
When replacing old appliances choose those with high energy ratings
Many of these measures and actions are going to be easier to put in place (and continue to adopt) if you have a team member or two driving and coordinating them. What about including a discussion at your next team meeting and seeing what they’re willing to champion? Not only can you help the environment, but your team will also enjoy working together on such great causes 😊.
The Augmentum team provides a broad range of consultancy and management services, supporting healthcare business owners and decision makers in other key areas such as strategy development and action planning, building effective foundations and teams, keeping your finger on the pulse, and driving growth and success. Get in touch to find out more, or check out our website www.augmentum.com.au
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