23.3 tonnes… This is the mass of waste produced each week by Chic, on its Quimper and Concarneau sites. There is of course “infectious risk” waste, which represents 8% of the total and which has been sorted for a very long time. And, for three years, the deployment of a sorting policy for cardboard packaging and paper. “The objective is now to tackle 75% of the total, which corresponds to non-hazardous healthcare waste, assimilated to household waste,” explains Anthony Le Gall, Chic’s logistics manager. This week is therefore an opportunity to present to staff the challenges of this sorting. “This requires adapting the premises, with more bins, more handling,” indicates Pauline Huet, sustainable development project manager. These are new habits to adopt.” The next step will be to work on packaging for single-use objects. “Long-term” work, which must take hygiene constraints into account.
2 Carbon-free transport in tunnels
Two years ago, electric bicycle travel for transporting small equipment was tested on the Concarneau site. A “cyclology” set up in Quimper, and soon in Porzou. “Here, the experiment was also an opportunity to redevelop a system that has existed since the creation of the site: a tunnel that connects the buildings together,” explains Anthony Le Gall. An electric vehicle, a real little train pulling carts loaded with waste, equipment or linen, travels through these galleries, limiting the use of thermal vehicles on the surface.
3 Less chemistry to clean
“Eco-cleaning” is gradually being rolled out in the hospital. “It’s about using fewer chemicals,” says Pauline Huet. So, for washing floors, we only use water and microfibers. And in some departments we have moved to steam cleaning. A system that aims to develop.”
4 Sustainable mobility packages
Le Chic also wants to help staff use gentle means of transport to get to work. A sustainable mobility package has thus been put in place, for those who come by bike, public transport or carpooling. For the moment, of the 3,200 people employed in Quimper and Concarneau, 200 benefit from it. Note that a carpooling platform specific to Chic has been set up, and that a new, rather large, bicycle shelter has just been set up in Concarneau.
A brand new bicycle shelter has just been built on the site of the Porzou hospital. (Le Télégramme/Olivier Desveaux)
5 A vegetarian alternative to the self-catering restaurant
This Thursday, September 25, a 100% vegetarian meal was offered in the hospital cafeteria. “Starting this week, a vegetarian alternative will be offered every day,” announces Pauline Huet. And we are thinking about setting up a 100% vegetarian day every week.” And for patients and residents? “We work there with nutritionists. In the coming months, there will be this possibility too,” indicates the project manager. As for organic, if it only represents 5% of the total meals offered, the project is to push for its development. With two pitfalls: the budget and the difficulty of finding substantial volumes for the 8,000 meals served daily in the region.
