Supporting NHS Wales through sustainable procurement
Working together, NHS Wales and GV Health have reduced plastic consumption, improved supply efficiency and delivered measurable carbon savings across waste bags and aprons.
The partnership has focused on introducing recycled content, reducing raw material use, consolidating product ranges and improving packaging, transport and storage. Together, these projects have delivered significant annual financial savings, reduced plastic use by over 26 tonnes per year and lowered the annual carbon footprint by 31.6 tonnes of CO2e.
31.6 tonnes
Lower annual carbon footprint
Reported reduction in CO2e across the projects.
Over 26 tonnes
Less plastic used each year
Through material optimisation and product consolidation.
37 → 25
A simpler product range
Fewer stock lines to procure, store and manage.
“Overall the project has had a very positive impact on NHS Wales. The project has been easy to roll out with minimum involvement from NHS Wales due to the heavy support from GV Health.”
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
These collaborative projects also resulted in GV Health being shortlisted for two NHS Wales Sustainability Awards: Service of the Year and Product of the Year.
The global challenge of plastic waste
Climate change and plastic pollution present connected challenges. Plastics generate emissions throughout their lifecycle, from the extraction and refining of fossil fuels to manufacturing, transport and disposal.
Plastic pollution also affects ecosystems, wildlife and human health. Growing production and consumption place increasing pressure on waste management infrastructure, while discarded plastics can persist in the environment and break down into microplastics.
For healthcare, the challenge is to reduce material consumption and environmental impact while maintaining the safety, quality and performance required for patient care.
The challenge for the NHS
The NHS uses substantial quantities of single-use plastic across clinical care and supporting services. Depending on its use and contamination, waste may require recycling, alternative treatment, incineration or landfill disposal.
Both landfill and incineration have environmental consequences. Plastic can persist in landfill and fragment over time, while incinerating fossil-based plastic releases fossil-derived carbon dioxide. Reducing unnecessary plastic use therefore provides benefits before waste reaches the disposal stage.
Waste classification also affects cost. Figures cited in the original assessment put clinical waste disposal at up to £503 per tonne, compared with £160 per tonne for non-clinical waste.
A significant opportunity for improvement
Based on ERIC data for 2020/21, NHS secondary care produced an estimated 156,000 tonnes of clinical waste annually, with an estimated carbon impact of approximately 100,000 tonnes of CO2e per year.
Single-use plastics and the waste hierarchy
The waste hierarchy, described by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), ranks waste management options according to their environmental impact. Its first priority is preventing waste from being created.
Where waste cannot be prevented, the hierarchy prioritises preparation for reuse, followed by recycling, other recovery and, finally, disposal. Applying this approach can reduce procurement costs and waste disposal fees while supporting more efficient use of resources.
For single-use healthcare products, this means considering whether less material can deliver the same required performance, whether product ranges can be simplified and whether reusable alternatives are appropriate for the application.
Reducing waste at source helps address its environmental impact throughout manufacturing, transport, storage and disposal.
Improving waste management across the NHS
The NHS’s Net Zero programme recognises that the climate emergency is also a health emergency. Reducing emissions from healthcare requires action across services, buildings, transport, procurement and waste management.
Introduced in 2023, the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy sets out a ten-year approach to improving waste management. It focuses on data, workforce, compliance, commercial arrangements, infrastructure and sustainability.
The strategy encourages innovation, better use of data and improved staff engagement and training. These measures support waste reduction, correct segregation and the identification of carbon-saving opportunities.
The strategy estimated the potential for approximately £11 million in annual recurrent revenue savings and a reduction of approximately 30% in carbon emissions from waste.
The 20:20:60 segregation target
20%
High-temperature incineration
20%
Alternative treatment
60%
Offensive waste
Correct segregation directs waste to the appropriate treatment route, reducing unnecessary high-temperature incineration while supporting compliance, cost control and the safety of staff and patients.
NHS Wales: procurement as a driver of decarbonisation
The NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan, introduced in 2021, sets out action across six areas: carbon management, buildings, transport, procurement, estate planning and land use, and the approach to healthcare.
In 2018/19, the NHS Wales carbon footprint was approximately one million tonnes of CO2e, representing around 2.6% of Wales’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Procurement accounted for 62% of the footprint
At approximately 623,750 tonnes of CO2e in 2018/19, procurement represented a major opportunity to reduce emissions through supplier collaboration, product development and more efficient logistics.
The Delivery Plan aims to embed decarbonisation in procurement procedures and improve supply chain logistics and distribution. Its published reduction targets for 2025 and 2030 are shown below.
GV Health: science and innovation for better outcomes
GV Health is a science and technology company specialising in infection prevention and control and healthcare waste management. We have supplied products, services and innovation to the NHS for over 30 years, guided by our mission to create safer environments for human health.
As a major manufacturer and supplier of polythene clinical and domestic waste bags and aprons, we recognise our responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of these essential products.
Our investment in specialist expertise across chemistry, polymers and sustainability, supported by our laboratory facilities, enables us to develop products that use resources more efficiently while maintaining the performance and regulatory requirements essential to healthcare.
How GV Health supported NHS Wales
Our direct contract with NHS Wales began in October 2021, covering the manufacture and supply of clinical and domestic waste bags and aprons. With procurement accounting for a substantial proportion of NHS Wales’s carbon footprint, we identified opportunities to support its decarbonisation ambitions.
Working with NHS Wales, our Technical Team reviewed the product range and recommended projects covering recycled content, raw material consumption, packaging, transport, storage and consolidation.
The completed projects delivered a reported annual carbon footprint reduction of 31.6 tonnes of CO2e.
Project 1
Introducing recycled content
The introduction of the Plastic Packaging Tax in 2022 increased the incentive to incorporate recycled plastic into applicable packaging. For clinical waste bags, however, increasing recycled content requires careful development to maintain strength, consistency and performance.
GV Health’s factories operate a closed-loop supply chain using high-quality recycled material. Our Technical Team developed and tested polymer blends to increase recycled content while meeting the performance and certification requirements of the products concerned.
This work enabled GV Health to achieve 30% recycled content across its clinical waste bag range, with a minimum of 30% subsequently introduced across all clinical and domestic waste bags supplied under the NHS Wales contract.
Minimum 30% recycled content across the clinical and domestic waste bag range supplied to NHS Wales, reducing reliance on virgin plastic.
Project 2
Reducing raw material use
Our review identified products using more raw material than necessary to meet their required performance. By optimising polymer blends and manufacturing technology, we could reduce material use without compromising the required strength or quality.
One example was the yellow mattress bag. The NHS Wales specification required a thickness of 125 microns, while GV Health’s research, testing and experience supplying NHS England demonstrated that a 75-micron product could meet the application’s requirements.
Following trials with Health Boards, this change was introduced across NHS Wales. In total, raw material use was reduced across 13 of the 25 products on the framework.
24.7 tonnes
Estimated annual reduction in plastic weight.
27.8 tonnes
Estimated annual reduction in CO2e.
“The projects have helped reduce our overall plastic consumption.”
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Using less plastic also reduces the amount entering waste treatment and disposal, creating further opportunities to lower environmental impact and disposal costs.
Project 3
Improving packaging, transport and storage
Opportunities to reduce emissions extend beyond the product itself. Increasing the number of bags and aprons supplied per box and per pallet, within safe handling requirements, can improve transport and storage efficiency while reducing packaging.
Working with NHS Wales, we increased box sizes across seven product lines. The project assessment reported a reduction of 67.8m3 in total volume and an estimated 23% reduction in storage-related carbon footprint.
“Reducing the number of products on the Framework has reduced our storage”.
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
We also replaced plastic apron packaging with paper sleeves. This removed 298kg of plastic packaging annually and reduced overall packaging weight by 99.5kg per year.
These changes reduce the packaging requiring disposal while making the supply chain more efficient.
Project 4
Supporting the Welsh economy
At the start of the contract, GV Health invested in a new warehouse in Wales, close to the Newport and Bridgend stores. This brought stock closer to customers and supported a more efficient regional supply chain.
Over 25,000 fewer delivery miles per year
The Welsh warehouse reduced annual mileage to NHS Wales stores compared with servicing the contract from GV Health’s main warehouse.
The investment also created jobs in warehousing and logistics, supporting the Welsh economy alongside the environmental benefits of shorter delivery journeys.
Project 5
Streamlining and consolidating the range
We identified opportunities to consolidate products with similar specifications, particularly where individual lines had low demand. Working with Health Boards, we reviewed how each bag was used and trialled suitable alternatives.
Orange clinical waste bags: reduced from four product lines to three.
Clear waste bags: reduced from nine product lines to five.
Overall range: consolidated from 37 products to 25.
“Streamlining the products has meant a considerable cash release saving and has helped drive efficiency within NHS Wales.”
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
In one example, a low-volume product used by a single Health Board was replaced with a smaller bag that met the same strength requirements. Following trials, the switch reduced plastic use per bag and provided a more cost-effective solution.
Across the consolidation projects, estimated annual savings reached 1.6 tonnes of plastic and 3.4 tonnes of carbon footprint.
The combined benefits
The projects demonstrate how technical expertise and customer collaboration can deliver improvements across product performance, resource use and supply efficiency.
- Significant annual financial savings through polymer blend optimisation and consolidation.
- 31.6 tonnes of CO2e reduction in annual carbon footprint.
- Over 26 tonnes less plastic used in manufacturing each year.
- 298kg less plastic apron packaging per year — approximately 300kg.
- 19.5% reduction in total product mass, representing over 26 tonnes.
- 67.8m3 reduction in total product volume, with an estimated 23% reduction in storage-related carbon footprint.
- Minimum 30% recycled content across the clinical and domestic waste bag range.
- A simpler range, reduced from 37 products to 25.
Explore what sustainable procurement could deliver
Contact GV Health to discuss opportunities to reduce material use, simplify product ranges and improve the efficiency of your healthcare waste management supply chain.
Calculation basis and references
Project figures are reported annual estimates from the assessment. Individual measures describe different aspects of the projects and should not be added together. Carbon footprint calculations use the UK Government’s 2024 greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors.
