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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.
The Practice Greenhealth waste tracker helps our members identify how much hazardous and universal waste they… 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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Developing a robust waste baseline is a foundational element in setting waste reduction goals and targets. Identifying different waste stream volumes can be complex and may require interaction with a variety of waste haulers and/or vendors. Many hospitals find that data on waste streams has not historically been tracked at a granular level.
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Medical and clinical director of sustainability positions ensure alignment between sustainability and clinical care – helping organizations reduce waste and emissions, engage and educate the clinical workforce, build resilience, save money, and improve care.
A growing number of health professionals currently serve as medical or clinical director of sustainability, or an equivalent title, for their hospital or health system. Health professionals, sustainability leaders, and administrators are increasingly discovering the full value these positions can bring to their organizations.
“Our… Read More
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Health care is joining organizations across the country in the goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.
Food can be wasted but is never “waste.” As a valuable resource, it does not belong in a landfill. Landfilling food contributes to climate change and is a missed opportunity for addressing food insecurity. Our guidance, which aligns with the EPA food recovery hierarchy and evolving state and federal regulations, leads you through each strategy from source reduction to food donation to recycling and will help you make a plan for achieving your waste reduction goals.
Assemble the… Read More
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An academic medical center is a tertiary care hospital that is organizationally and administratively integrated with a medical school. The hospital is the principal site for the education of both medical students and postgraduate medical trainees. Often situated on or near a college or university campus, working together with the host institution and campus may be complicated. Now more than ever, medical and nursing students recognize climate change as an urgent threat to health and social justice.
Launched in 2023, the Climate Action and Sustainability in Academic Medicine Community forum… Read More
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Traditional methods of removing fluid medical waste from the operating room are being replaced in many places by fluid management systems that collect and discharge contents directly into the sanitary sewer.
Fluid management systems can replace single-use disposable plastic suction canisters, chemical solidifiers (itself an exposure risk), and significantly reduce waste disposal costs. Additional available safety features include smoke evacuation, precise vacuum control, fluid measurement, air filtration, and enclosed processing which further reduces occupational exposure risk.
Fluid… Read More
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Many of our member hospitals have made eliminating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and the plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from clinical products and devices a top priority, by creating PVC- and DEHP-free purchasing policies as part of their larger institutional safer chemicals policy, and by targeting specific hospital areas, such as the NICU, or product categories one-by-one.
Switching to products that are free of both PVC and DEHP is beneficial to patient safety. The Food and Drug Administration has recommended hospitals limit exposures to DEHP for sensitive populations, especially… Read More
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Practice Greenhealth's Kaeleigh Sheehan facilitating a workshop at CleanMed.
Though a tiny percentage of a hospital's total physical footprint, operating rooms have a big impact on hospital budgets.
The health care sector produces 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S and hospitals represent 36% alone. And operating rooms are their hot spots for emissions, waste, and energy use. A typical OR can make up half of a hospital’s aggregate costs, produce 33% of a facility’s waste, consume more energy per square foot than any other area of the hospital, and anesthetic gases alone… Read More
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Rather than disposing of supplies, equipment, and devices that are in good working order when a facility is finished with them, many of our member hospitals report they’ve identified ways to reuse, donate, remanufacture, or take advantage of take-backs for these items.
While it takes time to identify and arrange these reuse strategies, the costs saved by reducing haul-away disposal costs are substantial.
Practice Greenhealth offers tools, resources, and case studies to help our members to assess the best ways to reuse or donate equipment and other items rather than create waste.
Reuse,… Read More
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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.