Case Study

The Northern Consortium

Home

Case Studies

Cost, Carbon and Operational Efficiency Across 7 Trusts

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

“Working with the consortium and Sharpsmart, we rolled out offensive waste across our community sites. Although there were initial challenges, Sharpsmart’s support and dedicated face-to-face training helped alleviate staff concerns, making offensive waste the go-to stream where appropriate. We’ve also rationalised collections, saving both money and carbon from transport.”

The Challenge

The Northern Consortium Community is a collaborative partnership of NHS Trusts across the North of England, established to deliver shared, best-value services at scale whilst supporting quality, efficiency and sustainability across its member sites. It has an established reputation as one of the most effective NHS consortia for multi-site collaboration, driving positive outcomes.

The Northern Consortium’s approach to clinical waste had been compliant but heavily reliant on historic waste practices that no longer aligned with NHS sustainability ambitions, best-value principles, or targets outlined in the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy, such as the 20-20-60 waste split.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, infectious waste was piling up across the UK, and treatment options were severely limited. This resulted in a period of national contingency arrangements.

At the 2022 baseline, clinical waste management across the consortium was characterised by:

Over-classification of waste into high-cost, carbon-intensive High-Temperature Incineration (HTI) and Alternative Treatment (AT) routes.
Limited differentiation between infectious, offensive, and non-hazardous waste streams.
Overstated treatment assumptions, inflating disposal volumes and cost.
High service intensity, with frequent collections of underused containers.
Elevated transport activity, increasing both cost and carbon emissions.

Sharpsmart was awarded the Northern Consortium Community contract in December 2021 to manage clinical waste generated across community healthcare settings for multiple NHS Trusts within the consortium.

The consortium recognised early that meaningful improvement wouldn’t be achieved through service optimisation alone, and that long-established assumptions about waste classification and treatment would need to be maintained whilst continuing to ensure clinical safety and regulatory compliance.

This required a consortium-wide shift in how community clinical waste was understood, classified and managed.

Our Approach

Step 1

Working with Sharpsmart, the Northern Consortium reviewed historic service patterns to ensure collections reflected actual waste generation and operational need.

Key actions included:

Removing unnecessary or duplicated collections.
Optimising routes to reduce vehicle movements and road miles.
Increasing payloads per collection to reduce service frequency.

This step created a stable and efficient operational foundation, immediately reducing transport intensity, disruption and avoidable cost.

Step 2

With services stabilised, the Northern Consortium worked with Sharpsmart to improve the containment and presentation of waste across community sites.

This involved:

Optimising container selection to better match waste type and volume.
Reducing underfilled containers and unnecessary ’air movement’.
Increasing the average weight per pickup across Trusts.

By improving container utilisation, the consortium reduced the number of collections required whilst improving labour efficiency and transport productivity.

Step 3

The most significant gains were achieved by working directly with Trusts to review how community waste was being classified and treated, with a particular focus on reducing the overtreatment of low-risk waste.

This step included:

Detailed analysis of waste streams to identify inappropriate treatment routes.
On-site engagement with practical guidance to support correct segregation at source.
Reclassification of waste into offensive and non-hazardous streams where clinically appropriate.
Strategic diversion to lower-carbon treatment routes, including:
- Maximising the offensive waste stream, now averaging approximately 70% across the consortium.
- Using alternative treatment where clinically justified.
- Deploying Sharpsmart’s Effluent Retention process, removing the need for any sharps waste to be sent to HTI.

This approach shifted the consortium away from default, carbon-intensive treatment models toward a proportionate, compliant and clinically appropriate sustainable waste strategy.

The Solution

The outcome of this programme was a fully redesigned community clinical waste model for the Northern Consortium – one that prioritises safety, compliance, efficiency and education, without compromising sustainability.

The solution was underpinned by:

Correct waste classification aligned with HTM 07-01.
A significant reduction in reliance on HTI.
Optimised services with fewer collections and higher payloads.
Transparent reporting, Trust-level benchmarking and shared governance.
Clear alignment with NHS England’s Clinical Waste Strategy, the 20-20-60 waste split and Net Zero ambitions.

Rather than focusing solely on activity, the solution addressed how waste was classified, contained and treated across community settings, ensuring long-term value, resilience and sustainability for the consortium.

The Outcome

Between December 2021 and 2025, Sharpsmart worked in close partnership with the Northern Consortium to redefine how community clinical waste was classified, collected and treated. This transition from a compliant but carbon-intensive waste model has delivered substantial reductions in cost, carbon and service intensity.

By fundamentally changing how waste is classified, treated and managed, all Trusts within the consortium are now ahead of NHS England’s 2026 carbon reduction milestone, with several already achieving their 2028 targets, whilst also delivering strong financial and operational outcomes.

2025 Performance vs 2022 Baseline

Operational Performance:

33% reduction in collections across the consortium.
Increased volumes per pickup, reducing service frequency and transport impact.
98% service success rate of 99.6% DIFOT (delivered in full on time)
Zero non-conformances recorded in the most recent quarter.

Financial Performance:

28% reduction in total spend.
Waste volumes increased by approximately 5%, but spend increased by only 2.2% year-on-year in 2025 – these increases were the result of service expansion of consortium member sites.
£36 reduction in average cost per tonne, driven by improved treatment pathways and diversion.

Sustainability Performance:

69% reduction in carbon emissions.
46% below NHS England carbon targets for the period.
All Trusts exceeded the NHS England target of a 50% reduction.
Several Trusts achieved the 2028 target of an 80% reduction three years ahead of schedule.

This partnership between Sharpsmart and the Northern Consortium has been mutually beneficial, expanding Sharpsmart’s footprint in the North of England and improving its transport network, resulting in fewer road miles and increased efficiencies across the board.

It’s worth noting too that several of the Trusts under the Northern Consortium have previously won awards at the Excellence in Waste Management for the NHS in England Awards, and more submissions will be made for the upcoming 2026 awards.

Circle icon of person with chat thought bubble

Voices From Across the Consortium

“The 20-20-60 model has supported improved waste management practices and meaningful carbon reduction across the organisation. Its practical, collaborative approach has helped improve segregation, use resources more efficiently and strengthen staff engagement.”

Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust

“Sharpsmart supported the Trust by updating collection schedules and ensuring community sites had the right waste carts in place. Alongside achieving the 20-20-60 target, we’ve seen financial benefits and improvements to the patient environment.”

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

“Through improved segregation, updated training, smarter collection schedules and strengthened policies, NEAS has delivered major improvements in healthcare waste management, reducing carbon, spend and collections since 2022.”

North East Ambulance Service

“The consortium approach has helped standardise processes, optimise collections and container utilisation, and improve segregation at source. Even with rising waste volumes due to increased demand, our clinical waste carbon footprint continues to reduce.”

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Let's Talk!

Your time is valuable, and we don’t want to play hard to get. You can either phone us directly on the details listed on our contact page, or feel free to fill out this short form and one of our team members will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Request A Free Quote