Care Homes Losing Up to £8,000 a Year Through Poor Waste Management
Poor waste management practices are costing care homes thousands of pounds every year -and the problem is more widespread than many operators realise.
Analysis by leading independent healthcare waste management company Anenta reveals that care homes are wasting an average of £8,000 annually as a direct result of inadequate waste segregation and management processes. The root cause is largely the same across the sector: waste is consistently being placed in the wrong channels, triggering unnecessarily high disposal costs.
Detailed compositional audits undertaken both by Anenta, and separately by the Environment Agency (EA) have found that 70% of care home waste ends up in the wrong waste stream. The figures are particularly stark for clinical waste, where 90% is incorrectly categorised, and for offensive waste, where 35% is regularly contaminated with recyclable materials.
The financial impact is significant. Low-risk items that should be disposed of as offensive waste — at a cost of £300–£500 per tonne — are routinely being discarded as infectious waste, which costs upwards of £800 per tonne. For a care home producing moderate volumes of waste, these avoidable costs quickly accumulate.
The Root Cause: A Training Gap
Analysis of over 2,500 primary care Duty of Care audits by Anenta has revealed that 58% of healthcare professionals responsible for waste management are unfamiliar with the Healthcare Technical Memorandum — the key regulatory guidance governing healthcare waste, the latest iteration of which was published in March 2023.
This knowledge gap has led to inadequate training, weak waste management policies, and ingrained bad habits that are proving costly. Without a clear understanding of what goes where, incorrect disposal becomes the norm rather than the exception.
Graham Flynn, Director at Anenta, said: “On average, care homes are wasting £8,000 every year through poor waste management process and procurement. Changing waste disposal habits and practices prevents the unnecessary and expensive disposal of waste via inappropriate and environmentally damaging waste streams, such as incineration — instead ensuring that the majority of clinical waste is disposed of using either alternative treatments or energy-from-waste processes.”
E-Learning: An Important Part of the Solution
A free e-learning module on healthcare waste – developed in association with Anenta by NHS England alongside IPC leads, Local Commissioners, and industry experts – is available through the Health Education England online portal and plays an important role in addressing these issues.
The 30–45 minute module – available here – outlines what waste should go into which stream, explains correct segregation practices, and provides practical guidance to help staff build better habits from the ground up. Crucially, it is free to access — removing the cost barrier that might otherwise prevent smaller care homes from investing in staff training.
Flynn added: “The adoption of the training and correct segregation is critical if the care home sector is to cut costs and achieve Net Zero targets. The course is accessible to all and includes a risk assessment that care homes can use to directly inform the way in which their waste is segregated.
Compliance Risks Adding Further Pressure
Beyond the direct financial costs, poor waste management also exposes care homes to compliance risks that can have serious operational consequences.
Where waste contractors identify non-compliant waste streams, they are entitled to refuse collections entirely – a scenario that can put care services at significant risk of disruption. This risk is managed through the correct completion of a Pre-Acceptance Audit (PAA), which most care homes are required to undertake every five years, or annually where a site produces more than five tonnes of clinical waste per year.
The e-learning module supports care homes in preparing for and completing their PAA — a practical benefit that sits alongside the direct cost savings that come with better segregation.
Flynn said: “The training will play a big part in cutting costs by improving waste management among staff. Importantly, it will also help care homes with their PAA audit, without which their healthcare waste cannot be collected — potentially resulting in enforcement action by the Environment Agency.”
For more information about Anenta and its care home audit app — which enables care homes to conduct compulsory clinical waste pre-acceptance and duty of care audits in just 40 minutes, without the need for third-party on-site visits — visit www.anentawaste.com or call 033 0122 214.
