Baler proves financially effective

The acute hospital, which serves the communities of West Norfolk, South Lincolnshire and East Cambridgeshire, researched ways to make significant cost savings from its domestic waste processes, considering the scope to recycle cardboard, plastic, paper, and scrap metal in order to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill. As the cost of landfill continues to increase at a dramatic rate, minimising the expense, as well as the environmental impact, has been a major concern for the hospital’s procurement and facilities team.

The Tony Team TT75 twin baler was considered to be the best solution. It bales paper, cardboard and packaging materials, as well as plastic and aluminium can waste, into condensed cubes that not only take up less space when stored, but are easily sold to recycling merchants, generating an additional income stream for the Trust.

The TT75 also meets the hospital’s health and safety requirements, being a suitable size to store in an outbuilding, which eliminates hazard for members of the public. Card can be baled as soon as it is collected by any trained member of hospital staff, keeping the site tidy and reducing the requirement for more regular bin collections and their associated costs.

“The cost, convenience and environmental implications of installing the Tony Team baler are significant,” commented Martin Taylor, strategic procurement manager at the Trust. “Before installation, we had approximately 60 tonnes of cardboard going to landfill a year, which had cost as well as ecological associations. With this new baler we can reduce that expense considerably and avoid the increased expenditure of landfill fees, while meeting Government targets that challenge organisations to reduce their reliance on landfill. Furthermore, we can collect cardboard from our satellite hospital sites for baling to further maximise the benefits. Our compacted waste collections have decreased from eight collections per month to six.”