Reducing regulated medical waste: Cost and compliance strategies
May 27, 2026
Reducing regulated medical waste: Cost and compliance strategies
2–3 pm ET (11 am–12 pm PT)
Reducing regulated medical waste (RMW) remains a key challenge as costs rise, regulations evolve, and misclassification persists. Many organizations are evaluating different ways to address these challenges, considering policy changes, on-site treatment technologies, and workflow changes, while still trying to balance potential emissions impacts.
In this session, experts from Practice Greenhealth and WM/Stericycle shared practical strategies to develop an effective RMW reduction program while improving compliance and reducing unnecessary RMW.
Listen to explore:
• Current trends in health care waste
• How to design an effective RMW reduction program
• Staff engagement and workflow alignment
• Regulatory considerations
• Proven strategies to safely and cost-effectively reduce RMW
Leave with actionable steps to reduce waste, lower costs, and improve sustainability performance.
Alex Chapman
Job Title
Director of Regulatory Affairs
Organization
Stericycle
Alex Chapman (she/her) is Director of Regulatory Affairs for Stericycle with about 20 years of experience working with health care, commercial, and government organizations. Her work has included developing, managing, and supporting programs that drive and support regulatory compliance and sustainability.
Alex’s work has primarily been in complex regulated environments with a focus on health care collaborating with generators, suppliers, industry organizations, and regulators to assess, design, enable, and enhance compliant and sustainable waste management processes and programs throughout the value chain.
Alex has enjoyed collaborating with and supporting health care and industry organizations, including Practice Greenhealth, NETEC, and the Healthcare Waste Institute on initiatives to help individuals and organizations reach their goals and create safe and sustainable environments for themselves, their employees, and the communities they serve.
Chris Bodkin
Job Title
Associate Director of Industry Partnerships and Sustainability Innovation and Waste Solutions Manager
Organization
Practice Greenhealth
Chris Bodkin (he/him) is a sustainability leader with over 16 years of experience advancing environmental solutions across the health care sector. At Practice Greenhealth and Health Care Without Harm, he leads the Industry Partner Program and oversees health care waste initiatives, working at the intersection of providers, suppliers, and manufacturers.
Chris specializes in building scalable, cost-competitive strategies to reduce healthcare’s environmental footprint — particularly in plastics and pharmaceutical waste. He collaborates with health systems and industry leaders to drive circular economy solutions, safer material use, and system-wide change that aligns environmental impact with operational performance.
Join Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the health care sector’s go-to source for information, tools, data, resources, and expert technical support on sustainability initiatives that help hospitals and health systems meet their health, financial, and community goals.
Who We Are
Practice Greenhealth is the leading sustainable health care organization, delivering environmental solutions to more than 1,500 hospitals and health systems in the United States and Canada. Partnership opportunities include hospitals, health systems, community health organizations, NGOs, nonprofits, government, academic institutions, and the health care value chain.