Atrium Health will eliminate single-use plastic items such as water bottles, soft drink bottles, straws and utensils

Atrium

Atrium Health will initially eliminate single-use plastic water bottles. (Credit: pasja1000 from Pixabay)

US-based Atrium Health has unveiled plans to eliminate 1.9 million single-use plastics across the health system, as part of its sustainable efforts.

The company will phase out single-use plastic items such as water bottles, soft drink bottles, straws and utensils from major areas inside its North Carolina facilities.

Atrium Health to begin initiative with the elimination of single-use plastic water bottles

The healthcare system will start the initiative with the elimination of single-use plastic water bottles from its cafeterias lounges and catering. The initiative will be fully implemented from September.

The company is planning to replace single-use plastic bottles with eco-friendly products such as biodegradable water bottles, touchless reusable water bottle refilling stations and hands-free water dispensers.

Americans spend $16bn on bottled water per annum, and consume over 14 billion gallons of bottled water each year, as per the International Bottled Water Association.

According to the healthcare firm, consumers only recycle about one-third of the plastic bottles being purchased in North Carolina.

The sustainable initiative will help Atrium Health to reduce the carbon footprint in this category by up to 74%.

Atrium Health president and CEO Eugene Woods said: “Conservation is something that takes each organisation and person committing to doing their part, every single day.

“Our initial efforts at Atrium Health will eliminate 1.9 million water bottles each year at our care sites, which over just five years translates to nearly 90 tons of plastic waste and over 260 metric tons of carbon impact removed from the environment.”

Recently, the recycling company RecycleGO collaborated with DeepDive Technology Group on the recycling blockchain technology.