HSV team sees waste treatment in action at Cleanaway Daniels

The HSV Procurement team is conducting a series of supplier site visits to strengthen partnerships and increase our understanding of the way our suppliers operate. Through better partnerships and understanding, these visits aim to benefit our health service customers and ultimately, patient outcomes.

Chief Procurement Officer Sarah Bryant and some Procurement team members visited one of the Cleanaway Daniels clinical waste processing facilities in Dandenong South recently in what they describe as a very worthwhile and enlightening experience.  

The waste facility processes the bulk of Victoria’s health service clinical waste not requiring incineration.

The HSV team got up close and personal to see the site’s autoclaves – the huge steam pressure cooker machines that pressure-cook clinical waste to kill any harmful microbes and make it safe for landfill. The autoclaves also melt and compress the waste to reduce landfill volume requirements.

“We also had a look around the automated bin washline and heard about an exciting initiative to convert sterilisation wrap into park furniture,” says Sarah.

“Clinical waste management is one of the critical support services that HSV looks after for Victoria’s public health services – getting it right is incredibly important for keeping hospitals running smoothly and contributing to safe environmental outcomes.”

HSV collectively sources waste management services for the Victorian public health sector, with our collective agreement covering over 1000 sites of different shapes and sizes, across three interlinking supplier panels:

• general and recycling for ordinary rubbish and recycling
• clinical waste for ordinary clinical waste and incineration-only waste
• other speciality waste streams that don't fit into general, recycling or clinical.

“Our goal is to work with suppliers to provide as many options for diversion from landfill as possible, both for better environmental outcomes and reduced costs,” Sarah notes.

“Getting to see what happens to the waste after it leaves health services was really valuable for boosting our understanding of the clinical waste contracts we manage.”

Ashley Green, General Manager – Health Services at Cleanaway Daniels, said he was pleased to host the HSV group on their site visit. “We took the team on a tour of our medical waste treatment operations where they saw our clinical and sharps waste disposal in action.”

“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with HSV to ensure safe, compliant, and environmentally responsible disposal waste solutions that support the health and safety of Victoria’s communities.” 

The Cleanaway Daniels outing was the first in a series of supplier site visits that Sarah will be taking with Procurement team members in the coming months. “Getting out on site is so beneficial for strengthening relationships and enabling us to engage more strategically with key suppliers,” she says.

“Over time, these interactions will help us improve patient outcomes and uncover greater value for our health service customers, whether through innovation, efficiency gains or improved service levels.”

Above image: HSV Chief Procurement Officer Sarah Bryant with members of the Procurement team at the Cleanaway Daniels clinical waste processing facility in Dandenong South.