Shrewsbury vet practice’s environmental efforts recognised with Green award
A Shrewsbury veterinary practice is celebrating receiving a top environmental accolade for cutting waste and reducing energy as part of its commitment to caring for the planet as well as pets.
Quarry Vets has achieved the Investors in the Environment (iiE) Green award, which is the highest level in the prestigious sustainability accreditation scheme.
It’s the third time the practice has been recognised by the iiE scheme, having achieved the Bronze award in 2022 and Silver in 2023.
The Green award recognises that the Quarry Vets team has embraced greener ways of working at its main practice in Brassey Road to reduce energy and water consumption, increase the amount of waste that’s recycled and cut anaesthetic gas emissions.
The positive environmental changes it has made include:-
Reducing natural gas by 11%, clinical waste by 24% and commuter mileage using petrol vehicles by 3% over the past 12 months.
Instigating a waste management system, where materials are divided into categories to increase the amount that can be recycled so less goes to landfill.
Introducing compostable pill bottles, syringes made from recycled plastic and cardboard buster collars for pets.
Recycling used drip lines to create non-absorbent cat litter for collecting urine samples, by chopping them into pieces.
Using refillable cleaning products and recycled toilet paper.
Establishing a wildlife garden at the Brassey Road surgery, which uses rainwater to water plants. Compost bins have been installed to produce organic fertilizer that team members take home and use in their own gardens.
Supporting local social and environmental projects, including organising a food bank collection, an annual charity cake sale, selling Christmas cards in aid of charity and attending Bayston Hill’s Eco-Fair.
Quarry Vets’ vet Charlie Hertel heads up the practice’s green initiatives, supported by nurse Hana Hemingway and receptionists Sally Vow and Rene Jones.
Charlie said: “We are delighted to have achieved the iiE Green award and are very proud that the changes we’ve made have achieved such positive results. It’s really important to me that we take care of our planet and joining the iiE scheme is our way of taking responsibility for our impact on the environment.
“I am incredibly appreciative of all the team members at Quarry Vets, who have been getting involved by suggesting new ideas and always working hard to help me put changes into place. These eco-friendly improvements have become second nature in the workplace, and I am hoping to create good habits which encourage others to think about how they can save energy and reduce waste at home, too.
“As part of our environmental efforts, we’ve also been reaching out to clients about the importance of sustainability and they have been very supportive and interested to find out more. I’ve found involving clients and the local community in what we’re doing really rewarding because the more people we can encourage to embrace sustainability, the more can be achieved to protect our planet for the future.
“Now we’ve achieved Green level we won’t be slowing down, and we will be continuing our efforts to maintain the accreditation and are always looking for new ways we can be more efficient with our resources.”
Quarry Vets is also supporting this year’s national Antibiotic Amnesty and is urging pet owners to return any left-over or out-of-date antibiotics to them for safe disposal. This is designed to help fight the worrying problem of antibiotic resistance by preventing medication being used when it’s not needed, as well as avoiding medicine being disposed of inappropriately which carries a risk of them harming the environment by contaminating water systems and soil or being eaten by wildlife.
The national Antibiotic Amnesty runs during November, but Quarry Vets is happy to take in unwanted medication that has been prescribed for pets at any time.
By Joanna Browne - Contributor
