Warragul Linen Service

Warragul Linen Service, a business unit of the West Gippsland Healthcare Group, has modified its two “counterflow” Continuous Batch Washing machines to save approximately 5.5 litres of water per kilogram of linen washed – an overall reduction of 35 per cent from the previous 16 litres of water per kilogram used. An annual saving of around 30 Olympic sized swimming pools or 30ML.

The Service processes around 118 tonnes of laundry per week for many of Melbourne’s major public hospitals, hotels and regional health facilities; of this, 103 tonnes is processed through the Continuous Batch Washers. These machines treat relatively small batches of linen progressively through a number of modules, being subjected to flush, wash, bleach and rinse processes.

Modifications included: achieving a more favourable mix of fresh and used rinse water as initial flush water; introducing single stage presses to provide more water for re-use; installing baffles in rinse tanks to slow water distribution rate and reduce overflow waste; and introducing a more stringent wet filter cleaning regime.

A $1m washroom upgrade will replace three conventional washer/extractors with a new ‘bath exchange’ Continuous Batch Washer that will save another 12ML a year.

“While these water saving projects fulfil environmental obligations and provide benefit to the community at large, they also offer motivation for others to recognise that minor changes to behaviour can achieve significant results,” says Mr Ormond Pearson, CEO West Gippsland Healthcare Group.