The Conference - 2026
Why attend the Excellence in Waste Management for the NHS in England Conference?
Knowledge Sharing & Best Practices:
- Learning from Success: Listen to the Award winners from 2025 who will present detailed case studies of their projects. Providing attendees with real-life insights into successful waste management initiatives that are already making a measurable impact.
- Inspiring Future Change: Sharing these best practices creates an opportunity for other Trusts to learn and implement similar projects, fostering continuous improvement across the NHS and promoting the development of innovative waste management strategies.
- CPD Certified: Attendees will gain insights from industry experts on reducing waste, recycling and innovative solutions that are underdevelopment. All sessions will be CPD certified contributing to your professional development and equipping you with the knowledge to implement effective waste reduction strategies within your own Trusts.
Greater Engagement for Sponsors and Exhibitors:
- Maximising Visibility for Sponsors: Sponsors not only gain exposure during the awards ceremony but also throughout the day at the conference. This allows them to showcase their products, services, and innovations to a highly engaged and targeted audience of NHS professionals.
- Face-to-Face Networking: The exhibition hall will provide an ideal platform for suppliers, innovators, and Trusts to network, build relationships, and discuss future collaborations. This extended interaction is invaluable for sponsors and exhibitors who are looking to engage decision-makers in the healthcare sector.
Conference Programme
Under Construction
- 08:30 -
- 09:15
- Coffee & Registration
- 09:15 -
- 09:20
- Welcome
Liam Hogg
Head of Waste and Resource
NHS England
Head of Waste and Resource
NHS England
- 09:25 -
- 09:45
- Keynote Speaker
Michael Hopkinson
Head of Supply Resilience and Sustainability
Department of Health and Social Care
Head of Supply Resilience and Sustainability
Department of Health and Social Care
- 09:50 -
- 10:15
- Panel Discussion: Turning NHS Waste Strategy into Operational Reality
- As NHS organisations work towards ambitious waste reduction and net zero targets, many Trusts are facing the challenge of translating national strategy into practical, measurable action. This opening panel will bring together NHS leaders, operational experts, and sector partners to explore the approaches that are delivering real progress across healthcare waste management. The discussion will examine the practical realities of improving waste segregation, reducing carbon emissions, embedding behavioural change, and achieving compliance across complex healthcare environments. Panelists will share lessons learned from implementing waste reduction initiatives at scale, highlighting both the successes and the operational challenges organisations continue to face. Delegates will gain valuable insight into the strategies, partnerships, and innovations helping Trusts move closer towards NHS waste and sustainability targets, while also identifying where further support, collaboration, and system-wide change may still be required.
Liam Hogg
Head of Waste and Resource
NHS England
Head of Waste and Resource
NHS England
Michael Hopkinson
Head of Supply Resilience and Sustainability
Department of Health and Social Care
Head of Supply Resilience and Sustainability
Department of Health and Social Care
Tim Radcliffe
Net Zero Food Programme Manager
NHS England
Net Zero Food Programme Manager
NHS England
- 10:20 -
- 10:50
- Achieving Double Gold: Delivering Sustainable Waste Transformation in Practice
- In this featured case study, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust will share how a Trust-wide transformation programme delivered significant improvements in waste segregation, carbon reduction, compliance, and operational performance — resulting in double gold award recognition for both Waste Management Team of the Year and Biggest Reduction in Carbon Emissions from Waste. Through a structured Plan–Do–Check–Act approach, the Trust introduced intensive staff training, expanded offensive waste streams, strengthened governance processes, and implemented digital monitoring tools to improve visibility, accountability, and behavioural change across the organisation. The session will explore how collaboration across clinical, operational, and waste management teams enabled the Trust to achieve a 53% reduction in waste-related CO2e emissions alongside financial savings of more than £132,000. Delegates will gain practical insight into the challenges, lessons learned, and key success factors behind delivering sustainable change at scale within a complex NHS environment.
Samantha Stanhope
Associate Director of Sustainability
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Associate Director of Sustainability
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
- 10:55 -
- 11:40
- Coffee & Networking
- 11:45 -
- 12:15
- Bringing Safety Back to the Centre of Healthcare Waste Management - Sponsored by Sharpsmart - Gold Sponsor
- As healthcare waste management evolves to meet increasingly ambitious sustainability, efficiency and cost targets, it is vital that safety remains at the heart of every decision. Drawing on four decades of experience in healthcare waste innovation, Dan Daniels, Founder & CEO of Sharpsmart, will explore why protecting healthcare workers and patients must remain a fundamental measure of successful waste management. He will consider how innovation, system design and a safety-first culture can reduce risk while supporting the wider environmental and operational ambitions of modern healthcare.
Dan Daniels
Founder & CEO
Sharpsmart
Founder & CEO
Sharpsmart
- 12:20 -
- 12:50
- Driving Trust-Wide Change Through Leadership, Engagement & Innovation
- In this session, Waste Management Champion of the Year winner Mark Leighton will share how strong leadership, collaboration, and staff engagement helped transform waste management practices across Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Since taking on the role less than two years ago, Mark has led the development of a comprehensive waste management strategy focused on improving segregation, strengthening governance, embedding staff education, and driving behavioural change across multiple sites and departments. Through close collaboration with operational teams, contractors, and clinical stakeholders, the Trust has delivered significant environmental and financial improvements, including savings exceeding £200,000. This session will explore the practical steps taken to build organisational engagement, overcome operational challenges, and create a more consistent and sustainable approach to waste management. Delegates will gain valuable insight into how leadership and communication can drive measurable change across complex healthcare environments.
Mark Leighton
Trust Waste Manager
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Trust Waste Manager
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
- 12:55 -
- 13:25
- From Strategy to Delivery: What We’re Seeing Across NHS Waste Systems - Sponsored by Biffa
- This sponsored session will explore the key trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping waste management across NHS organisations, drawing on insights from working with Trusts at different stages of their sustainability journey. The discussion will examine how healthcare providers are translating national waste and net zero strategies into practical operational improvements, with a focus on waste segregation, compliance, carbon reduction, staff engagement, and long-term behavioural change. Attendees will gain valuable insight into the common themes emerging across the sector, the approaches delivering the strongest results, and the practical steps organisations can take to improve waste performance, reduce costs, and support wider sustainability objectives.
Debra Macey
Senior Majors BDM
Biffa
Senior Majors BDM
Biffa
- 13:25 -
- 13:25
- Lunch & Networking
- 14:30 -
- 14:55
- Beyond Gloves: How Behaviour Change Delivered Major Waste & Carbon Savings
- Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust will showcase how its award-winning “Gloves Off” campaign successfully reduced unnecessary single-use glove consumption through a targeted behaviour change and staff engagement programme. Focused on empowering staff to make informed decisions around appropriate glove use, the initiative combined clear communications, practical education, and strong clinical engagement to embed sustainable practice across the organisation. After launching Trust-wide in September 2024, the Trust reduced glove usage by 2.6 million gloves, delivering a saving of 13 tonnes of plastic waste, 68 tonnes of carbon emissions, and £310K in procurement costs in the first year. This session will explore how low-cost interventions, effective communications, and organisation-wide engagement can deliver measurable environmental, operational, and financial benefits at scale, while supporting patient safety and staff wellbeing.
Anna Jones
Sustainable Travel Officer
Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Sustainable Travel Officer
Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
George Ogleby
Sustainability Communications and Engagement Lead
Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts
Sustainability Communications and Engagement Lead
Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts
- 15:05 -
- 15:45
- Interactive Panel Discussion: What’s Really Working Across NHS Waste Reduction – And What Isn’t
- As NHS organisations continue to face increasing environmental, financial, and operational pressures, this interactive panel will explore the practical strategies that are delivering measurable waste reduction across healthcare settings — and the common barriers that still remain. Bringing together award-winning Trusts and sector experts, the discussion will examine real-world experiences of improving waste segregation, reducing single-use items, cutting food and clinical waste, engaging frontline staff, and embedding sustainable behaviours across complex organisations. The session will provide an honest and practical conversation around what has delivered the greatest impact, the lessons learned from implementation challenges, and where further progress is still needed to support NHS net zero and waste reduction ambitions. Delegates will also have the opportunity to contribute questions and share their own experiences throughout the discussion.
Liam Hogg
Head of Waste and Resource
NHS England
Head of Waste and Resource
NHS England
Samantha Stanhope
Associate Director of Sustainability
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Associate Director of Sustainability
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Mark Leighton
Trust Waste Manager
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Trust Waste Manager
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Tim Radcliffe
Net Zero Food Programme Manager
NHS England
Net Zero Food Programme Manager
NHS England
- 15:45 -
- 16:05
- From Plate to Progress: How Data, Behaviour Change and Partnership Cut Hospital Food Waste by 36%
- Following their Gold Award win for Best Reduction of Food Waste of the Year 2025, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust return to share the journey behind their award-winning initiative and the lessons learned since implementation. Shane McAteer from Sharpsmart will explain how the partnership between the Trust, Sharpsmart and NHS England combined data, behaviour change and operational improvements to transform food waste management. The programme delivered a 36% reduction in food waste within eight months, increased recycling rates by 13%, reduced food procurement costs by 6%, and cut carbon emissions by 58% per tonne of waste. This session will explore how evidence-led decision making, staff engagement and cross-sector collaboration created lasting change, and how other healthcare organisations can replicate this proven approach to reduce waste, lower costs and improve sustainability outcomes.
Shane McAteer
TWM Contract Management Lead
Sharpsmart UK
TWM Contract Management Lead
Sharpsmart UK
Tim Radcliffe
Net Zero Food Programme Manager
NHS England
Net Zero Food Programme Manager
NHS England
- 16:10 -
- 16:30
- Conference Takeaways & Audience Reflections
Liam Hogg
Head of Waste and Resource
NHS England
Head of Waste and Resource
NHS England
- 18:30 -
- 19:00
- Drinks reception for the Awards Ceremony
- Please note the awards ceremony is by invitation only - if you wish to attend please contact us at [email protected]
Our Speakers
- Anna Jones
- Sustainable Travel Officer
- Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
- Dan Daniels
- Founder & CEO
- Sharpsmart
- Debra Macey
- Senior Majors BDM
- Biffa
- Fiona Daly
- Deputy Director of Estates
- NHS England
- George Ogleby
- Sustainability Communications and Engagement Lead
- Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts
- Liam Hogg
- Head of Waste and Resource
- NHS England
- Mark Leighton
- Trust Waste Manager
- The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
- Samantha Stanhope
- Associate Director of Sustainability
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
- Shane McAteer
- TWM Contract Management Lead
- Sharpsmart UK
- Tim Radcliffe
- Net Zero Food Programme Manager
- NHS England
Under Construction
Registration
Private Or Public Sector ?
Private Sector:
Conference & Exhibition Pass
Standard rate £249 +VAT
Free for NHS Staff:
Conference & Exhibition Pass
Refreshments and Lunch
Conference & Exhibition
Thursday, 1st October 2026
Science & Industry Museum,
Liverpool Rd,
Manchester,
M3 4JP
