New NHS recycling project with The Wombles set to save millions

An NHS Trust is today announcing a partnership with The Wombles Community Charity to help clean up its act and save money — by turning non-infectious hospital waste into reusable training tools.

A pilot scheme run over the last year across seven hospitals in Sussex has saved approximately £35,000 and diverted 25,000 clinical items from incineration.

Now being offered to all NHS Trusts, this initiative is set to save millions every year.

The Wombles’ Reuse and Repurpose Programme has been piloted at the University Hospitals Sussex (UHS) NHS Foundation Trust since October 2024. 

Dedicated waste bins, branded with the familiar faces of The Wombles to help encourage staff to use them, have been implemented to collect non-infectious clinical waste.

Transported to a nearby staff training facility, the waste has been successfully re-used in simulation settings, where non-sterile medical items are needed on a daily basis.

There are over 200 NHS simulation suites across the UK used for training staff. This initiative could transform the way they access medical equipment.

The move also supports NHS England’s Net Zero by 2040 ambition and offers Trusts a practical, low-cost way to meet their sustainability goals.

The Wombles’ Reuse and Repurpose Programme is being officially unveiled at the ASPiH (Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare) Conference from 12-13th November.

The project aims to onboard 10–15 additional NHS Trusts over the next 12 months, with early interest already being shown from several regions.

“This partnership is about changing mindsets as much as materials with the help of The Wombles Community Charity,” said Julie Turner, Chair of the Sustainability Interest Group for the Association for ASPiH. “So many items end up as clinical waste simply because they can’t be used with patients – but in training, they’re invaluable. By repurposing instead of disposing, we save money, reduce waste, and create more realistic learning environments for NHS staff.

“Crucially, the model requires no upfront investment, relying instead on existing materials and staff engagement. This makes it an accessible and effective sustainability solution for Trusts of all sizes – from large teaching hospitals to smaller community and ambulance services.”

A pilot with promising results

In its first year, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has embedded the reuse model across four simulation suites.

To date, the Trust has collected and repurposed over 25,000 items ranging from unopened but expired medical supplies to non-sterile tools and packaging suitable for hands-on learning.

“We were delighted to hear about the success of the NHS Wombles programme in Sussex and ambitions to roll it out nationally,” said Sasha Treharne, Community Executive at The Wombles Community Charity. “The Wombles are fiercely committed to sustainability and using their example, the NHS can more creatively repurpose what they throw away and breathe new life into discarded items.”

Items unsuitable for training are donated to humanitarian projects such as the Peter Claver Foundation, ensuring that “nothing goes to waste unnecessarily.” This includes resus mannequins, airway equipment, catheters, cannulas and other disposables used to train staff in a local hospital in Nigeria, building their clinical competencies and ensuring patients have the highest possible care and have safe interventions. 

A sustainable future for NHS training

Before the programme, most simulation suites had no system for diverting unused items from the clinical waste stream. Equipment that was expired, opened, or unsuitable for patient use would typically be incinerated at significant financial and environmental cost.

The Wombles Community Charity partnership provides a clear alternative, cutting disposal costs while aligning with NHS England’s Green Plan and Net Zero commitments.

“Delivering realistic palliative care simulation has helped our team strengthen communication, compassion, and confidence in end-of-life care,” says Ellie Gibson, Palliative care specialist nurse. “Access to real ward equipment through The Womble Project has been invaluable — improving fidelity, sustainability, and the quality of our training.”

ENDS

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Editors notes

For further information, please contact Rhiannon Elliott – Rhiannon@highlightpr.co.uk or Emily Baker – Emily@highlightpr.co.uk

Image credits - Jas Lehal/PA Media Assignments

Pictured:

• Wellington Womble
• Ellie Gibson - Palliative Care Specialist Nurse
• Kelly Southern - Palliative Care Specialist Nurse
• Dr Zoe Palmer - Palliative Care Medicine Consultant
• Julie Turner, Sustainability Chair at ASPiH (Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare) and Deputy Head of Simulation and Essential Clinical Skills

About The Wombles Community Charity

The Wombles Community Charity inspires individuals and organisations across the UK to “make good use of the things that everyday folk leave behind.” Champions of reusing, recycling, and creative sustainability in everyday life, the charity has over 140 community groups and approximately 90k members nationwide, each committed to local litter picking and cleaning up Britain’s streets. Through partnerships with schools, businesses, and now the NHS, the Wombles continue to turn waste into worthwhile resources, helping communities clean up, cut costs, and care for the planet.

About Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare

The Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare was established in 2008. In its 15 years as a membership association, it has grown and evolved both in its activities that support our members and in its relationship with other societies and commercial partners in the wider simulation community.

The Association considers that all individuals involved in the design, delivery, evaluation, and translation of simulated practice should adhere to the ASPiH 2023 core values of:

Ø safety

Ø equity, diversity and inclusion

Ø sustainability

Ø excellence

Each year we hold an annual conference and network meeting. The conference themes are chosen to help us explore, share and evaluate something that we feel is important, current or innovative.