Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Our digital waste audit tool is designed to be independent of your waste service contract. You can use our Waste Trends Audit tool to gain clear visibility across all waste streams, track compliance issues, and drive targeted improvement in, regardless of your current service provider.

Yes. Our REAL waste management education embeds compliance requirements, including HTM 07-01, into every module, giving staff the knowledge and confidence to achieve and maintain compliance.

Success is measured by real sustainable waste management outcomes. i.e the changing composition of waste measured in kgs and tonnes, a reduction in non-conformances in PAA audits and local site audits, and a reduction in waste-related datex incidents.

Success is measured not just in knowledge retention, but also in observed behavioural change and improved compliance outcomes. With tiered learning, REAL training also develops waste champions within your facility to help you sustain cultural excellence.

We work inside the four walls with your teams, combining clinical education, hands-on training, and data insights to build confidence and embed lasting behavioural change around offensive waste.

Support is tailored to each department and role, from ward nurses to porters and infection prevention leads. Our training package is designed to meet the diverse needs of learners, with resources tailored to accommodate visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic learning styles. This ensures that every team member can engage meaningfully and apply best practices with confidence.

We ask them what their learning style is. Listen and provide resources that they need.

Our REAL training modules are built around specific waste streams and responsibilities. For example, oncology teams may receive training on cytotoxic waste, whilst ward staff focus on offensive and infectious waste. This ensures every learner receives only what’s directly relevant to their role.

Success is measured by more than just volume – it’s about safe, compliant segregation that delivers environmental and operational value. While the NHS waste split target of 20% high-temperature incineration, 20% alternative treatment, and 60% offensive waste provides a useful national benchmark, it’s not universally applicable.

For example, specialist settings such as oncological outpatient centres may generate higher volumes of cytotoxic waste requiring HTI, making the 20-20-60 split unrealistic.

That’s why Sharpsmart focuses on quality over quantity. There’s no value in increasing offensive waste volumes if the stream is contaminated with pharmaceutical or infectious material. Our Continual Improvement Team works with each facility to:

• Ensure correct segregation at source
• Minimise misclassification and contamination
• Align waste profiles with clinical activity
• Track carbon footprint reduction, which is often the most meaningful measure of success

By tailoring optimisation to your patient population, clinical risk, and operational goals, we help facilities achieve safe, sustainable waste management, whether that means meeting the 20-20-60 target or redefining success through carbon and compliance metrics.

The frequency of Pre-Acceptance Audits (PAAs) depends on the type of facility and the volume of healthcare waste produced annually. Requirements are as follows:

• High-Risk Producers: facilities generating 5 tonnes or more of healthcare waste per year must complete a PAA at least every 12 months. This typically includes hospitals and outpatient centres.
• Medium-Risk Producers: dentists, veterinary practices, and research laboratories must complete a PAA every two years, regardless of exact waste volume.
• Low-Risk Producers: facilities generating less than 5 tonnes annually must complete a PAA every five years. This includes GPs, pharmacies, smaller clinics and nursing homes.

Audit frequency should be tailored to your facility’s goals, risk profile, and how you intend to use the results. Some teams audit monthly to monitor high-risk areas or track rapid improvement, while others opt for quarterly or biannual cycles in more stable environments.

While NHS England’s Clinical Waste Strategy does not mandate a specific audit interval, it encourages data-led decision-making and continual improvement. Our Continual Improvement Team can help you design an audit schedule that aligns with your compliance objectives, operational pressures, and sustainability targets, ensuring audits remain purposeful, not just procedural

Yes. When used correctly, the offensive waste stream is both safe and compliant for non-infectious, recognisable healthcare waste that contains no pharmaceutical or chemical substances. Its wider use within clinical settings depends on accurate waste segregation and a clear understanding of the patient population.

National surveillance data indicates that approximately 15–20% of patients in NHS acute hospitals are infectious, whether due to community-acquired infections present on admission or healthcare-associated infections acquired during their stay. This means that up to 1 in 5 patients may generate waste unsuitable for the offensive stream, requiring clinical waste disposal instead.

Sharpsmart’s Continuous Improvement Team ensures that waste segregation aligns with HTM 07-01 and the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy, supporting departments in assessing their infectious patient load and implementing safe waste use. In lower-risk areas, such as outpatient clinics, elective surgery units, or rehabilitation wards, offensive waste can often be expanded with confidence. In higher-risk zones, tighter controls and ongoing surveillance are essential to ensure safety is never compromised.

Food waste includes leftover meals, peelings, expired food and catering waste. In healthcare facilities, this may extend from ward kitchens, staff canteens and patient services. Sharpsmart provides tailored guidance and solutions to ensure food waste is collected and stored compliantly.

Unlike traditional paper-based audits, our tool generates instant reports, enables users to assign corrective actions, and supports progress tracking over time. This ensures accountability and fosters a Continual Improvement cycle across wards and departments.

Waste should not be collected without a valid Pre-Acceptance Audit in place. This creates a compliance breach and exposes your facility to legal, financial and environmental risk. Sharpsmart ensures PAAs are completed on time with reminders leading up to expiration so your service remains uninterrupted.

A Pre-Acceptance Audit (PAA) is a legal requirement under environmental legislation for facilities that produce healthcare waste. It must be completed before a licensed waste contractor can accept waste for treatment or disposal. The audit assesses how waste is segregated, stored, labelled, and documented, ensuring that practices are safe, compliant, and traceable. Its purpose is to protect the environment, support proper classification, and ensure that waste is handled according to regulatory standards.

Sharpsmart already provides industry-leading waste training that surpasses traditional training models. Our REAL training programme builds on this foundation to offer an enhanced experience tailored to individual learning styles and priorities.

‘REAL’ training stands for Relevant Engaging Accessible Learning.

The training resources themselves are modular and aligned to these learning styles.

• Relevant – It’s modular, so individuals can access the relevant models they need.
• Engaging – Aligned to learning style.
• Accessible – Modules are made available locally.
• Learning – Complex information is simplified and delivered in a form that aligns with individuals, increasing learning productivity.

Learning shouldn’t be a one-off, but a continuous process, it makes education more personalised, memorable and impactful.

Facilities that implement offensive waste optimisation correctly, by diverting suitable non-infectious waste from the clinical stream, typically achieve cost savings of 30–50% per tonne compared to infectious waste disposal. These savings stem from reduced treatment costs and more efficient waste handling.

Beyond financial savings, offensive waste optimisation contributes to the NHS’s Net Zero targets by lowering carbon emissions associated with high-temperature incineration. Sharpsmart’s Continuous Improvement & Optimisation Team ensures that all segregation aligns with HTM 07-01 and the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy, so cost savings never come at the expense of safety or compliance.

From March 2025, all healthcare organisations with 10 or more Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees have been mandated to separate plastic, paper, glass, metals and food waste from general waste.

By March 2027, additional requirements, including soft plastics being mandated as a separate stream will be phased in. Sharpsmart can help you prepare now to avoid disruption later.

Our digital Waste Trends Audit tool can be used to audit any waste stream, including infectious, offensive and pharmaceutical waste, sharps, recycling, domestic, and food waste. Whether you’re reviewing clinical compliance or tracking sustainability targets, the tool provides a complete picture of segregation accuracy, stream-specific performance, and opportunities to improve across your facility.

As the waste producer, you’re responsible for providing the necessary documentation, including relevant policies, procedures, and operational records, for review during the audit process. Sharpsmart supports facilities by communicating requirements in advance, helping teams prepare efficiently and avoid last-minute delays.

The Environment Agency has the authority to issue compliance notices to facilities that fail to meet their recycling obligations. These notices may outline specific steps that need to be taken to rectify the situation.

If your facility fails to comply with legislation, further enforcement action may be taken, including fines, legal action and possibly prosecution.