A UK waste company – Betts Envirometal (HEJ – September 2013) – has won the Best Financial Efficiency model award in the 2014 Building Better Healthcare Awards.
The Birmingham-based precious metals recycling firm recovers precious metals from used X-ray film and laboratory waste; in 2013 it reportedly delivered rebates value at £160,000 to the NHS estate, disposing of 533,200 kg of used X-ray film on the estate’s behalf.
Steve Withers, general manager, described the win as “confirmation that waste management should no longer be viewed as a ‘dirty cost’.” He said: “With NHS budgets frozen, and £20 billion in savings to be found by 2015, a waste management company winning in the Financial Efficiencies category is particularly noteworthy. Healthcare facilities managers and radiology departments should reassess current arrangements to ensure that they are getting value for money.
“Precious metal-bearing wastes are often bulked together with hazardous wastes or, in film’s case, retained in storage past its legal retention date. This award demonstrates that in a modern, resource-driven age, those organisations which rationalise and pay attention to their waste streams will be rewarded financially, while also going the extra mile for the environment.”
