Take-aways without plastic

The ANMF’s Health and Environment Sustainability Conference was brimming with ideas to re-think healthcare to reduce our impact on the environment, reduce costs and improve the community’s health.

‘We know what it is to look after sick people, but there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?’ ANMF Environmental Health Officer Roslyn Morgan said. ‘We don’t
want to pollute the environment in the act of delivering that care.’

1. Victorian Government resources 
   Victorian public health services spend $18 million each year removing 40,000 tonnes of waste. The recently appointed Victorian Department of Health and Human Services Waste Education Officer Rachel McConville recommends nurses and midwives visit the Sustainability in Healthcare website for resources, guidelines and case studies of changing behavior in health services.
2. Join the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Network (GGHH)
   The acronym is hard to say, but at least the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals network is easy (and free) to join. The ANMF (Victorian Branch) is a member of GGHH.
   As a member benefit, ANMF (Victorian Branch) members can also access GGHH membership and resources available on the website, greenhospitals.net. These include an online global collaboration platform, educational webinars, and a data centre to measure your project progress. Please email Ros Morgan ANMF (Vic Branch) Environmental Health Officer via records@anmfvic.asn.au for more information.
3. Save on catering
   Social entrepreneur Katy Barfield has made it her business to reduce food industry wastage amounting to 3.9 million tonnes of food every year. That’s six MCGs filled to the top. Ms Barfield has developed an online wholesale marketplace Yume Food that links suppliers’ surplus food with potential buyers, saving fresh food that may have a slight imperfection, such as a packaging tear, from landfill or deep burial. Products available include pastries, fresh salmon, quiches and frittatas, cheese and crackers, and berries.