Forward-thinking Finland has demonstrated its flair for innovation by awarding Envac, the global pioneer of automated waste collection systems (AWCS), with contracts to install its system within four hospitals across the country.
The move, which will see Envac’s technology integrated within Jyväskylä Hospital, Kainuu Central Hospital, Hyvinkää Sairaalanmäki and Tampere University Hospital, cements Envac’s position as the preferred AWCS supplier to the healthcare sector.
All four installations are expected to be completed by 2020 and will automatically transport a combined total of over 3,000 tonnes of hospital linen and general waste via airflow alone each year.
On installing Envac at Hyvinkää Sairaalanmäki, Eero Rahikka, Property Manager at HUS, the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, comments: “With a strong reputation for delivering automated waste collection systems to hospitals throughout the world, Envac was the natural choice for us when it came to installing a solution capable of handling such large volumes of waste. Envac is now internationally renowned for its technology and also represents the most cost effective solution. We expect the technology to significantly streamline our waste collection process.”
Envac transports waste at up to 70 km per hour through a network of pipes either hidden underground or located within the core of a building. Waste is then transported to a central collection station on the perimeter of the hospital site.
Matias Seini, Construction Manager at PSHP, which will be overseeing the development of Tampere University Hospital, adds: “When it comes to installing an automated waste collection system, reliability is everything. Envac’s longstanding history of creating and installing systems with long-term operational reliability combined with its high-profile hospital portfolio convinced us that it was the right partner to deliver a robust and high-quality system.”
Envac invented automated waste collection technology in 1961. Almost six decades since its launch the technology can be found it residential developments, airports, industrial kitchens and entire towns and cities.
Organisations in both the private and public sectors are increasingly turning to automated waste collection as a way in which to create efficiencies and make waste collection a cleaner, leaner and more sustainable process. Whilst Finland is a relatively small country, it has demonstrated a commitment to innovation and an ability to map out a long-term vision. In doing this, it has set the global standard when it comes to waste collection within the healthcare sector and for this we applaud the country’s forward-thinking attitude
Joakim Karlsson, Envac AB’s Chief Executive
