ReFood Case Studies | Health Care | The Countess Of Chester Hospital

NHS (Chester)

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs over 4,300 staff and 200 volunteers, with around 115,000 people accessing their services each year.

“As an organisation committed to the latest technology and processes, we were impressed with ReFood’s innovative approach to food waste. The new bin swap not only meant cleaner bins and lower food disposal costs, but also allowed us to take steps to reduce food waste across the trust. ReFood’s door-to-door service, reliable staff and responsive account management also ensured the whole process ran like clockwork.”

Craig Hough, Catering Manager

The trust is continually seeking to reduce operating costs and improve sustainability, so ReFood was selected to transform the trust’s approach to food waste. In the past, the trust disposed of ward and preparation waste through macerators, which made it difficult to measure our exact waste volumes, recycling costs and emissions.

We replaced the existing macerators with a reliable system of food waste bins, which made food waste clean, convenient and measurable. This collection service not only reduced the trust’s water usage, drainage costs and energy consumption, but also allowed us to gain a clearer picture of food disposal within the organisation. We were subsequently able to suggest cost savings at every stage of the process and implement changes that minimised waste at the preparation stage.

Our model was so successful that many other NHS trusts are now looking to implement the same changes.

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