Women’s College Hospital’s (WCH) Environmental Services (EVS) department is continuing to prioritize waste reduction at the hospital with the rollout of a new Office Cleaning Program. Part of this program is getting all WCH staff and physicians involved in keeping work areas clean.
Starting in July, EVS staff will continue to clean offices once a week, which includes the cleaning of high-touch points, floors, carpets and cleared surfaces. Staff who use these offices will be tasked with cleaning their own computers, keyboards, phones and other devices on their desks, as well as with proper disposal of office waste and recycling in hallway or kitchenette garbage and recycling containers.
Education on proper waste streams – what type of waste goes into which container – will be provided for staff upon the rollout of the new program.
In anticipation of this new waste reduction program, WCH staff, physicians and patients can still play a role in reducing waste. Here are some tips:
- Use reusable bottles for water, coffee, tea, juice, or other drinks (most washrooms and kitchenettes have water filter stations)
- Don’t hoard – submit requests to EVS to discard of large items
- Reuse office furniture in various spaces – furniture move requests are completed a few times a month and costs are shared between departments requesting the move
- Bring your lunch in reusable containers and dispose of leftovers in the proper waste streams
- Familiarize yourself with proper waste streams and dispose of garbage and recycling in the proper receptacles (food waste belong in organics and recyclable containers/boxes go in mixed recycling bins)