PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
In general hospitals generate different kinds of glass waste, all of which is considered hazardous waste and is destroyed at a high cost. As there is no systematic separation at source, the current glass collection systems do not differentiate between clear and coloured glass nor glass having hazardous remains and glass free of any harmful substances. Helsinki University hospitals produce reclaimable glass waste amounting to 370 tonnes per year.
OBJECTIVES
The HUH-glass project was aimed at analysing the feasibility of establishing source separation schemes to reduce the problems related to glass waste disposal in hospitals. The expected result was a feasible model for promoting the recovery and safe handling of potentially harmful and hazardous glass fractions. The project was also to improve occupational safety in waste management by standardising procedures and equipment. The volumes of potentially hazardous glass at landfills were to be reduced as a result.
RESULTS
The project succeeded in developing a sustainable glass waste recycling system based on new source separation instructions, which lead to minimized amounts of glass waste in landfills. Glass recovery was realised in the participating hospitals, where containers coded for either brown or colourless glass were placed. Colourless cullet (recycled glass) is suitable for any kind of glass packaging, brown and green cullet are only good for coloured glass, so this is important to separate at source. At a processing plant the hospital glass was cleaned, crushed and processed to a raw material for new packaging glass. About 250 tonnes of glass in total were recovered and kept away from landfills and directed to materials recycling. This amounted to 70% of the potential material stream of glass. Of the recovered glass 7% was brown covered. The project succeeded in raising awareness among the health care sector employees of the importance of issues pertaining to waste management. 27 special care hospitals in the province of Uusimaa participated in the project, employing around 18,000 persons in total. Questionnaires were sent to the participating personnel at the beginning and end of the project. The responses revealed that the personnel took a positive view to separating and collecting glass. They were ready to continue with glass collecting after the end of the project and 30% of the participants wanted to widen the scope of source collection to other waste fractions. Twenty options for further separation were mentioned among which biowaste, fluid cartons and different sorts of plastics were considered the most important. At the end of the project, it was suggested that the source collection be continued as a routine at the participating establishments and also to be expanded to primary health care in Helsinki and the surrounding municipalities. A video produced by the project was distributed for teaching and advisory purposes. A follow up ex-post report was carried out in June 2004. It concluded that the project has worked well since the LIFE supported period and that the methodology and technical solutions developed were still relevant. The essential content of the project was the change in the attitudes regarding the waste and its separation. After this basic change had been achieved, the technical content was easy to adjust. Minor equipment changes and technical processes inside the hospital proved easy to implement as appropriate. The system or the main elements of it (mainly source separation) has been introduced in approximately 20 hospitals within the re-organised health care district.The project succeeded in developing a sustainable glass waste recycling system based on new source separation instructions, which lead to minimized amounts of glass waste in landfills. Glass recovery was realised in the participating hospitals, where containers coded for either brown or colourless glass were placed. Colourless cullet (recycled glass) is suitable for any kind of glass packaging, brown and green cullet are only good for coloured glass, so this is important to separate at source. At a processing plant the hospital glass was cleaned, crushed and processed to a raw material for new packaging glass. About 250 tonnes of glass in total were recovered and kept away from landfills and directed to materials recycling. This amounted to 70% of the potential material stream of glass. Of the recovered glass 7% was brown covered. The project succeeded in raising awareness among the health care sector employees of the importance of issues pertaining to waste management. 27 special care hospitals in the province of Uusimaa participated in the project, employing around 18,000 persons in total. Questionnaires were sent to the participating personnel at the beginning and end of the project. The responses revealed that the personnel took a positive view to separating and collecting glass. They were ready to continue with glass collecting after the end of the project and 30% of the participants wanted to widen the scope of source collection to other waste fractions. Twenty options for further separation were mentioned among which biowaste, fluid cartons and different sorts of plastics were considered the most important. At the end of the project, it was suggested that the source collection be continued as a routine at the participating establishments and also to be expanded to primary health care in Helsinki and the surrounding municipalities. A video produced by the project was distributed for teaching and advisory purposes. A follow up ex-post report was carried out in June 2004. It concluded that the project has worked well since the LIFE supported period and that the methodology and technical solutions developed were still relevant. The essential content of the project was the change in the attitudes regarding the waste and its separation. After this basic change had been achieved, the technical content was easy to adjust. Minor equipment changes and technical processes inside the hospital proved easy to implement as appropriate. The system or the main elements of it (mainly source separation) has been introduced in approximately 20 hospitals within the re-organised health care district.
