James Paget University Hospital NHS
LOCATION Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, UK
INSTALL DATE September 2019
INDUSTRY Health
Background
The James Paget University Hospital NHS Foundation trust provides acute hospital care for the population of 230,000 residents across Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Waveney with 4000 employees.
The Trust serves in excess of half million meals per annum, with in house chefs preparing food from scratch utilising fresh locally sourced produce, priding themselves on quality and nutrition delivered sustainably.
Food waste was previously disposed of in the kitchen area through a maceration system using a considerable amount of water, which was then flushed down the drain and into the sewer system. The drains frequently blocked resulting in increased maintenance activities to unblock them.
The kitchen is positioned above a clinical treatment area, making these issues with the macerator and the risk of flooding a great concern.
The Trust were moving away from their waste to water system, pre- empting impending legislation across the U.K., but more importantly pioneering the NHS sustainability agenda.
The Green Solution
Given the disposal challenges caused by the maceration system, the hospital’s head of facilities management deployed a WasteMaster 400 system to solve the problem. Rather than dispose of the waste down the drain, the WasteMaster reduced the food waste by 80% resulting in a dry residue that can be re-purposed to produce green electricity or as a soil enhancer.
The technology was simple to deploy without the need for water or drainage connections; only a simple three phase power supply and an air vent was required.
Positive Outcomes
3.9M litres of water saved per annum
Reduced energy consumption by 13,500kWh per annum, in turn reducing associated carbon emissions
Financial Saving of £25,000 - £30,000 per annum
An annual 90-tonne reduction in food waste weight
Elimination of vermin presence
No more fines due to food in general waste.
Environmental and Operational Benefits
An increased awareness of their food waste volume provided by the measurement capability of the WasteMaster, has empowered the Catering team to look more closely at how they can further reduce at prep and plate stage, with this in mind they are looking to introduce an electronic ordering system. Wastemaster will be able to provide data that quantifies the effectiveness of this system.
We prepare over 500,000 meals a year for our patients alongside a busy staff restaurant, even with robust processes to minimise surplus, our food waste is significant. The macerator and hard infrastructure was struggling to cope and becoming expensive to repair and maintain; it was clear to me that we needed a better solution.
The WasteMaster was, and still is, the best solution out there, we have been delighted with the equipment, the service, the ease of use and the contribution it makes to our Green agenda.”
Leigh Beutell, Head of Facilities Management