News
How Hollywood Private Hospital’s waste isn’t going to waste
Jun 22, 2022
Food waste from Hollywood Private Hospital is being converted into energy-dense material to produce green energy.
Since a WasteMaster food waste processing system was installed in April, about 13,000kg of food waste has been reduced down to just 3000kg of energy dense material which is sent to a biogas generator to produce green energy.
The food waste processed includes fruit and vegetable scraps, fish and chicken bones, patient tray waste and compostable packaging.
The WasteMaster blasts the food waste with charged oxygen molecules, which accelerates decomposition and reduces the weight of the organic waste by up to 80 per cent.
The energy-dense, odour-free residual material is then taken to a biogas generator, which uses an anaerobic digester to produce gas for green electricity.
Catering Manager Peter Trusler said already the reduction in food waste going to landfill reduced CO2 gas emissions from food waste by 25 tonnes.
“The waste material has produced enough electricity to power 249 homes for a whole day,” Mr Trusler said.
“We are not storing as much food waste on site, so there is less smell and less material to attract pests.
“There is also less pollution with fewer trucks required to collect food waste from the hospital.”
The recycling of food waste is one of many initiatives to reduce the hospital’s carbon footprint.
Some other sustainability programs include:
- Battery recycling – batteries from medical equipment, with more than 80 per cent charge, are sold to staff for household use. Batteries with less than 80 per cent charge are sent to an industrial recycling company for disposal.
- Reducing the use of anaesthetic gas desflurane – switching to sevoflurane, which is not as harmful to the environment.
- PVC recycling - masks, oxygen tubing and intravenous drip bags made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) turned into a variety of products such as gumboots, garden hoses and playmats.
Ramsay Health Care Australia CEO, Carmel Monaghan, said the company is committed to making its sites more sustainable to help protect the planet for generations to come.
“We have seen what a big difference some small changes can make to the environment and the future of our planet,” Ms Monaghan said.
Catering Manager Peter Trusler with the food waste recycling system.