A SHROPSHIRE NHS Trust has received an international award for their work to help the environment.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) has scooped a Green Apple award for recycling surplus hospital equipment and furniture, making savings of £80,000.

The trust has been given the gold level as part of the recognised International Green Apple Environment Awards for Environmental Best Practice for its work using Warp-it, a national online re-distribution network which aims to reduce waste.

Instead of going to landfill or spending unnecessarily on new items, hospital staff have been using Warp-it to seek and provide a new home for surplus items - from paper clips and filing trays to cabinets, desks and chairs.

SaTH has also linked up with the Ministry of Justice and is set to benefit from items that it no longer requires too.

Alex Ford, Sustainable Travel Plan co-ordinator at SaTH, said: “It is fantastic to win an award that recognises the efforts that we are making to make the Trust more sustainable, and reduce waste.

“Warp-it is an innovative idea that our staff have really embraced, and it is just one of the methods that we are using to reduce our environmental footprint. It also means that instead of spending money, we are saving it.”

The International Green Apple Awards for Environmental Best Practice 2018 were presented in the Houses of Parliament earlier this month.