drator system. “As an organization, we
have changed our food service model
entirely,” says Brzozowski. “We took
it as an opportunity to look at how we
are managing waste and our costs.”
The program had to be tailored for
each individual site’s food services
kitchen to account for differences in
room size and layout, but once the
staff got over the learning curve,
the programs have run “like a well-
oiled machine,” says Brzozowski. “We
wanted to work within the staff work
flow.”
Each site has a sorting station to
separate patient food waste into three
categories: landfill waste, food waste,
and recycling. After sorting, the food
waste is placed into a food dehydra-
tor system which processes the mate-
rial to reduce food waste volume by
80 percent, creating fine compost
soil additive which is then processed
through a green bin program. By
reducing our food volume waste by
80 percent, HHS also reduces food
waste cost by 80 per cent.
“Our nutrition services staff have also
begun reusing the cardboard trays
that patient meals are shipped on,”
says Brzozowski. “Each tray carries 16
meals, and since it can be reused three
to four times, it allows us to divert an
additional 36 tonnes of cardboard
from landfills each year.”
“Through waste management, resource
consumption, and emissions reduc-
tion, there is an opportunity for cost
savings,” says Cuthbert, “as well as
environmental responsibility, social
commitment, and financial stability.
Thoughour areas are not direct patient
care, it is indirect support activities,
and an investment in improving effi-
ciencies which free up funding for
patient care.”
Adds Brzozowski, “HHS believes, and
has shown, that an investment in effi-
ciencies will drive down operation
costs and increase our sustainability
in the future.”
NOVEMBER 2018 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 11
