Waste Reduction Week (October 16-22)

Waste Reduction Week (October 16-22) is an opportunity to celebrate our environmental efforts and achievements to date, and encourage new ideas and solutions to reduce our waste. Reducing the amount of waste you create is an easy way that you can help make a difference.

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s Green Team is committed to reducing our environmental footprint and supporting these efforts through our extensive recycling programs, including:

  • All plastics #1 – #7
  • Cardboard and paper
  • Cans and scrap metal
  • Batteries
  • Electronic waste

We have started to set up Green Suites within select departments in the Hospital, for those areas looking to champion their department’s recycling initiatives. These Green Suites are a centralized area for managing and sorting recycle materials with the goal of minimizing the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill.

Nutrition and Food Services

  • Nutrition and Food Services uses cutlery and food containers in retail that are certified and legislation compliant. Patient meals have also made the switch to sustainable cutlery.
  • The Lean Path Program tracks food waste and allows us to identify other strategies to reduce waste.
  • The ORCA Food Digestive System, introduced in May 2023, has successfully diverted 29,600 lbs of food waste from going to the landfill.
  • The Nutrition and Food Services team is currently looking at other reusable merchandise like cups and lids in retail.
  • We are also working on introducing two new recycling programs onsite:

PPE Recycling:

  • Includes recycling of uncontaminated masks/gloves/gowns/booties/etc.
  • The uncontaminated PPE is shipped to LifeCycle Revive in southern Ontario.
  • The contents are sterilized and processed into pellets, which are then used to create recycling bins, bedpans, and other items.

Keurig K-Cup Recycling:

  • Intended for areas with kitchenettes, where Keurig coffee brewing equipment is in use.
  • The pods are collected and sent to Emterra for processing.
  • The pod components are separated – grounds become compost and the plastic is recycled.

If you are interested in becoming a recycling champion for your department to help support and expand our onsite initiatives, please reach out to TBRHSC.Housekeeping@tbh.net.

We also encourage you to visit the Green Team page on the intranet, and the EcoSuperior website to learn about more ways you can get involved and support the local sustainability efforts.