Waste management solutions firm Vetspeed – trading as Novus Environmental – currently provides all clinical waste and animal by-product waste services for the University of Bristol.
The contract involves supplying all containers for storage of anatomical waste, sharps, cyto waste as well as fallen stock, in addition to scheduled collections and disposal in line with current legislation.
Novus Environmental says it has tailored its services to meet the needs of Bristol University to ensure consistent, superior service at the local level. “We offer a comprehensive waste collection and recycling service supplying containers, wheeled eurocarts, liquid and chemical waste disposal, industrial and commercial recycling, anaerobic digestion and more,” says a press release from the firm.
Novus Environmental says the firm has worked closely with the University to produce a practical and innovative waste action plan. The quarterly service improvement reports provide a succession of manageable schemes and procedures to ensure best value, says the firm. The University wishes to achieve significant savings and the introduction of new processes has begun to see benefits. Along with a flexible approach to services, the firm says it has offered outstanding value to the University from the start of the contract and has continually built upon this with the improvement of services and new innovations to deliver waste minimisation and real waste reduction and segregation.
Waste minimisation
Resource efficiency and waste minimisation at source is of prime importance to the University. Novus Environmental is experienced in providing ideas and information on effective and innovative ways to reduce waste before the point of disposal and as waste partners works closely with the Estates Team, the Environment Team and Waste User Groups to compile a comprehensive programme to promote waste minimisation and reduction of waste to landfill. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of each individual to reduce waste; therefore Novus Environmental works with the university to implement the best waste minimisation programme, which includes staff and student awareness programmes, arranging staff and student visits to the regional depots and visits to local treatment facilities. Publishing the volumes of waste for each school or holding location enables the Environment Team to target high waste output areas.
Recycling
Recognising that encouraging waste minimisation requires long-term changes in habits and attitudes, Novus Environmental continues to enhance sustainable and comprehensive solutions for waste recycling systems across the entire campus and the satellite sites. Measures include: Introducing more detailed waste audits and reports which allow closer analysis for each individual Holding Location, allowing for targeted promotions and discussions in relation to the problem locations identified, and encouraging better segregation and management of waste and recycling. All containers are labelled with the location to which they belong and the waste type.
Reporting, monitoring and improving waste management
Novus Environmental provides detailed monthly reports for the university, which allow the Waste Steering Group and Waste Working Groups to evaluate the performance of service, and the progress of overall recycling rates and recycling rates by site. This allows all parties to constantly review and improve practices to improve recycling rates and further minimise waste to become more cost effective. Reporting and monthly meetings allow for reviews of service level agreements to ensure the University is continually receiving the highest level of service.
 
