#1 Choose products which use recycled and recyclable packaging
As a veterinary wholesaler, NVS is dedicated to sustainability. We prioritise finding products that use minimal packaging or that which is made from sustainable materials. To help you easily spot which products these are, we’ve added our greener pawprint logo to the sustainable products on our website, NVS Online ordering portal and in our brochures.
NVS Online now includes enhanced sustainability information provided for each product. The ‘More Information’ product tile includes information about the packaging ie recyclable. What’s more, you can also now search by sustainable keywords within the products search function.
Select from NVS – to make it easier for you to identify the sustainable attributes of our range, we have introduced new sustainable symbols on our packaging.
Product Hero:
NEW Select from NVS Premium Iodine Solution – uses a min. of 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic bottles, which are also recyclable.
All of our Select from NVS 500ml chemicals now use a min. of 30% PCR plastic bottles – click here to view.
#2 Swap to concentrated & refillable cleaning & disinfection products
One small change that you can make is to swap your cleaning and disinfection products for concentrated options. You can also refill trigger spray bottles and other dispensers from these concentrated products, allowing for multiple reuses and significantly reducing single-use plastic packaging.
This also gives you the flexibility to change the concentration of the disinfectant in your trigger sprays depending on the requirement. For example, our Select from NVS disinfectants are recommended for use at two working dilutions: 1:50 for use in soiled environments and for virucidal use. 1:100 for general cleaning. As our high-level disinfectant concentrate is DEFRA-approved, it can also be used at 1:10 in cases of Avian Influenza (AI).
Click here to view or download the disinfectant applications guide.
Product hero:
Select from NVS Everyday High-Level DEFRA-approved Disinfectants. Effective against viruses, bacteria, MRSA, mycobacteria, yeasts and fungi. Available as a concentrated formula, the product doesn’t have to be rinsed and can be used at different concentrations to offer a single solution for all of a practice’s needs.
Active ingredients: Benzyl Alkyldimethyl chloride <8% Polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride <1%.
#3 Encourage your suppliers to minimise packaging
Is there a product that you use frequently in your practice that you feel is over-packaged? Maybe it has lots of unnecessary additional packaging materials added for delivery? If so, try getting in touch with the supplier or manufacturer to talk about your concerns and see if there are any changes they can make.
In the last issue of this magazine, we spoke to Paula Hunt, Head of Synergy Farm Health’s Green Group. By getting in touch with a well-known brand of TB needles Paula discovered that they could get the needle packs without the unnecessary individual oblong hard-plastic flip-top boxes that they were packaged in. With the number of needles that the practice used, it would save around 800g of hard plastic per year, which would add up to a big saving of 8kg over a 10-year period!
Read more about Synergy Farm Health’s sustainability journey
#4 Audit your recycling
Household recycling has become second nature for many of us, but what about the more complicated items that you use in practice? It’s often not as simple as it might appear, especially with not all packaging clearly labelled with instructions. So, how do you know/check what can be recycled? We’ve looked to Vet Sustain for some guidance on this and they suggest first checking with your local council, if you’re still unsure, the following resources are really useful:
NVS’s Recycling Collection Service – Any soft plastic or cardboard packaging that we delivered with your order can be handed back to your NVS delivery driver who will ensure it is returned to our main warehouse for recycling.
Did you know? We recycle over 320 tonnes of packaging each year: 300 tonnes of cardboard & 28 tonnes of plastic.
Read more about NVS’s Recycling Collection Service
#5 Work with your wholesaler to minimise packaging
NVS Tote Boxes are a reusable and sustainable distribution solution that reduces the amount of cardboard and plastic packaging required to safely and securely deliver essential products to your practice. By returning your tote boxes, you are helping to further reduce the use of cardboard and plastic packaging.
Click on the image below to discover more about how we can work together to deliver a greener pawprint.
Read more: Unwrapping sustainable packaging: How small changes can create a big impact
The article was originally posted in The Cube magazine, February 2024 issue. Click here to read the magazine.
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