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Recycling is one of the first ways our member hospitals look to implement or improve waste reduction. Many hospitals with active recycling programs have used Practice Greenhealth tools to recycle as much as 30 percent of their total waste across two main categories.
Solid waste recyclables
Confidential paper, mixed office paper, mixed plastics, corrugated boxes, glass and steel cans
Costs for this waste stream are often offset or completely covered by rebates and the sale of recycled materials.
Paper and corrugated cardboard recycling alone can reduce waste by 10 percent or more.… Read More
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Pharmaceutical waste can be classified as either regulated medical waste, solid waste, or hazardous waste, depending on regulations of a hospital’s state and locality. Regardless of the waste stream, our member hospitals have identified safe and responsible pharmaceutical waste disposal as a pressing challenge for several reasons:
Flushing and dumping, once common go-tos for disposal, are no longer best practice now that more and more evidence shows these discarded medications end up in groundwater.
More stringent regulations for controlled substances require additional attention to how… Read More
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Solid waste is the largest waste stream for health care organizations, comprising two-thirds of all hospital waste. Though relatively straightforward to dispose of, the sheer volume of solid waste consumes more than 30 percent of the hospital’s total waste budget. It is also often called municipal, black bag, clear bag, or non-regulated medical waste.
Solid waste from hospitals resembles the waste generated in other sectors or even from residential neighborhoods: paper, cardboard, food waste, textiles, plastics, and other non-regulated trash, but with more plastic from gloves, catheter bags… Read More
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Bulky materials such as ceiling tiles, bricks, glass, carpeting, cabinetry, and cement from construction and renovation projects can be expensive to remove. Many of Practice Greenhealth member hospitals have been able to reduce the amount of construction and demolition debris that goes to landfills by nearly 80 percent by:
Building recycling and reuse goals and requirements into new construction contracts
Purchasing fewer materials or purchasing more recyclable and/or reusable construction materials at the outset of a project
Better segregation of materials such as furniture, cabinetry,… Read More
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Hazardous waste
Hazardous waste is a small percentage of a hospital’s total generated waste, but it has a big impact on the waste management budget, costing on average more than 15 percent of total waste spending.
Hospitals need to have a clear understanding of how much hazardous waste they generate as different rules apply based on this total. It is also important to understand the federal and state laws that govern the definition and disposal of this costly waste stream.
Hazardous waste is a common byproduct of many hospital operations. Departments that frequently use chemicals… Read More
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Regulated medical waste, also called red bag waste, biohazard waste, or infectious medical waste is one of the most expensive waste streams to manage.
Though it can make up less than 8 percent of a hospital’s total waste production, it can cost more than 40 percent of their waste management budgets to handle.
Over the last 20 years, we’ve learned a lot about the impacts of regulated medical waste and its disposal from the hospitals we work with.
By narrowing down the scope of regulated medical waste into several sub-categories based on levels of risk they pose, hospitals can more narrowly… Read More
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Waste is a common challenge for health care organizations, no matter their size. Waste is complex and expensive to manage. Hospitals produce more than 5 million tons of waste each year.
Hospitals generate over 29 pounds of waste per bed per day. A waste plan is critical for any sustainability programming.
Every hospital is challenged by the complexity of health care waste and limited recycling and management options. Recycling isn’t enough. Member hospitals who look upstream by studying incoming material and then reduce both inputs and outputs together see greater reductions in total… Read More
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Regulated medical waste, also called red bag waste, biohazard waste, or infectious medical waste is one of the most expensive waste streams to manage.
Though it can make up less than 8 percent of a hospital’s total waste production, it can cost more than 40 percent of their waste management budgets to handle.
Over the last 20 years, we’ve learned a lot about the impacts of regulated medical waste and its disposal from the hospitals we work with.
By narrowing down the scope of regulated medical waste into several sub-categories based on levels of risk they pose, hospitals can… Read More
Type: Basic page
Sterilants and disinfectants used on surfaces, medical devices, and all items that come in contact with patients are an absolute necessity for infection control in any hospital.
The two most commonly used sterilants and disinfectants for medical devices in health care also have unwanted side effects for the health care workers who use them. They are:
ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen; and
glutaraldehyde, with reported side effects experienced by health care workers, such as breathing difficulties, rashes, headaches and nosebleeds.
Both the use and disposal of toxic sterilants and… Read More
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Chemicals are found throughout the health care setting, from conventional cleaning products to furniture that releases hazards into the air over time. Scientific evidence continues to grow about the potential impact of hazardous chemicals on human health. A few reasons to be concerned include the following:
Virtually all people are exposed regularly to a complex mixture of industrial chemicals and other hazardous pollutants, according to government studies.
Many commonly used chemicals are linked to a wide range of negative health effects, including cancer, birth defects, and infertility,… Read More
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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.