Sustainability
How hygiene can be a driver of sustainability in care
Ramona Shellard, sales director at WEPA Professional UK, explores how sustainable procurement can help the care sector achieve its environmental objectives
The care sector is navigating a difficult balance. As care homes align with the health sector’s net-zero 2040 ambition, sustainability is no longer optional, yet neither is the need to maintain safe and dignified care. With widening staffing gaps and escalating operating costs, providers are under pressure to reduce environmental impact without adding strain to already overstretched teams. In this landscape, hygiene plays a
much more significant role than is often acknowledged. Decisions around hygiene systems carry long-term implications for carbon reduction and overall Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) responsibilities. The products, processes, and partners selected in care settings influence everything from waste management and emissions to staff workload and resident wellbeing. Hygiene procurement should therefore
be seen as a strategic lever. When providers recognise it as a considered part of a care home’s ESG approach, rather than a simple, routine commodity purchase, the sector opens the door to solutions that support and improve both sustainability and care quality.
Hygiene as part of ESG strategy Across the care sector, providers generate around 150,000 tons of waste every year. While a portion of that is made up of clinical materials that require specialist disposal and carry a high carbon and cost burden, a large amount is routine, non-clinical waste. This includes paper towels, packaging, plastic dispensers and other day-to-day consumables – all of which are far easier to influence and where care homes can make the biggest difference. Environmental impact can be reduced
long before waste is created by selecting products and adopting systems designed with circularity in mind. Although circularity is often discussed in relation to clinical equipment, hygiene products offer a far more accessible and underused area for meaningful progress. Options made from recycled or cascaded fibres reduce the reliance and demand for virgin material while extending the life of materials that would otherwise become waste. Regenerative fibres help to further close the loop and support more responsible resource use. These are not simply ‘eco-label’ options – they are examples of how everyday
hygiene items can contribute to reducing material intensity across an estate. Circularity can also be embedded within
daily hygiene routines. Instead of sending used paper towels straight to disposal, care homes can also partner with recycling services that repurpose them into new
hygiene paper, cutting both waste and CO2 emissions. This approach reduces waste management costs and provides tangible progress against ESG commitments, all while safeguarding the hygiene and infection control residents depend on. For a sector balancing rising expectations with limited resources, circularity offers a practical and scalable route to more sustainable operations. The way systems are designed also
matters. Products engineered for economy- in-use naturally prevent overconsumption, helping teams use only what is needed without compromising hygiene standards. Meanwhile, dispensers and systems that make compliance straightforward can ease the pressure on estates teams, supporting them in meeting waste and sustainability requirements without adding complexity to their daily work. Sustainable hygiene goes beyond
April 2026
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com 43
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