Rainwater Harvesting: Protecting Our Planet’s Resources 

The impact of climate change is being felt across the globe. More extreme weather conditions like droughts and excessive rainfall are becoming more common. The UN recently predicted that fresh water demand will outstrip supply by 40% within five years. 

We all have a responsibility to help conserve water and reuse fresh water where we can. That’s why Stericycle has initiated a multi-site pilot project to build a scalable rainwater harvesting system that could help save millions of litres of water a year. 

It’s a corporate responsibility

All our waste treatment facilities use mains-supplied water to help us deliver sustainable clinical waste management services that protect people and the environment. At our Avonmouth treatment facility, we process nearly 20 tonnes of hazardous clinical waste every day, serving healthcare providers in South Wales, the Southwest and beyond. 

Avonmouth sits in a region that’s has experienced droughts. In addition, all parts of Wales in 2022 were moved to drought status. Regional Processing Manager, Steve Simms, said: “We all have an obligation to save water. We thought it was time to take responsibility as a business. So, we handed the task to Josh Harris, a trainee maintenance technician who's halfway through his apprenticeship with us at Avonmouth.”

Conserving and reusing millions of litres of water

Steve tasked Josh to design, build and implement a rainwater harvesting system that could be scaled up across other facilities. Even though we started small, the results were astounding. 

The system works by diverting and filtering rainwater from the roof into a 2,350-litre tank. The water is then piped inside the facility to a bin washing station which demands thousands of litres to wash and disinfect 770-litre waste containers. 

The water harvesting system reverts to the mains water source during low rainfall. But with adaptations, we plan to store water during high rainfall so it can be used to supply bin washers during all four seasons - reusing hundreds of thousands of litres every year. 

Josh says: “Bin washers could just be the beginning. We’ve identified opportunities to feed other demands for the filtered rainwater across the facility, which is tremendous step forward for the environment; and one more way where we're conserving and reusing resources to help safeguard our planet.” 

Making a difference to people and places

The water harvesting system has also now been installed in Stericycle Bridgend. 

Similar to Avonmouth, the new system helps reduce the facility’s demand for groundwater from aquifers and reservoirs, minimising the potential; impact of droughts on local communities. 

Rainwater harvesting also has the potential to reduce utility costs with any savings being re-invested into schemes that support new sustainable treatment solutions for our customers; and social value in our local communities, such as our successful apprenticeship scheme. 

Protecting what matters