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Open this resource to see an example of a poster on regulated medical waste disposal from Overlook Medical Center.
Type: Resources
The operating room (OR) is often the largest generator of waste within a hospital setting, and has been estimated to produce between 20-33% of the total waste generated in the hospital despite its diminutive spatial footprint. Of the waste generated by the OR, the largest percentage is often regulated medical waste (RMW), which can costs between 5 and 10 times more than solid waste to dispose of. Much of this cost can be avoided with proper waste segregation.
There are several finite steps an organization can follow to set up and implement a regulatory compliant RMW segregation program.
Type: Resources
Regulated medical waste (RMW) is regulated at the state level, with each state defining what material is legally considered to be RMW (also called infectious waste, biohazardous waste or special medical waste (depending on the state) within its borders. The state regulation also typically lays out the appropriate or acceptable treatment or disinfection methods for different classes of medical waste, as well as the proper storage, labeling, manifesting and disposal requirements for RMW. The agency defining RMW can vary by state but is typically the state department of health or the state… Read More
Type: Resources
The Healthcare Environmental Resource Center (HERC) and Practice Greenhealth recommend this 10-step approach to help you develop and implement a comprehensive pharmaceutical hazardous waste management program – one that combines regulatory compliance and best management practices with waste minimization – to safeguard human health and the environment, while minimizing risk in a cost-effective manner.
Type: Resources
(Less waste toolkit) Since 2009, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center has reduced its regulated medical waste (RMW) from 10 to seven percent of total waste, saving an estimated $2,000 per year in waste disposal fees. The operating room and endoscopy personnel identified opportunities for improvement. This win-win opportunity was accomplished through education, improved segregation, and regular audits.
Type: Resources
(Less waste toolkit) Learn how Inova Fairfax Hospital, a 900-bed trauma 1 community hospital in Falls Church, Va., reduced 14 percent of red bag waste and saved over $200,000 in waste removal fees.
Type: Resources
A Practice Greenhealth Case Study
“Organics recycling and food waste diversion remain very important to us, and we are slowly but surely working to expand both the number of facilities with organics recycling and the types of materials that can be recycled.” – Allison Egan, HealthPartners Sustainability Consultant
HealthPartners wanted to reduce sending organic waste to the landfill. They hoped to reduce their climate impact, lower their taxes, and recycle the nutrients found in food waste.
The health system partnered with a farmer, a commercial composter, and a community garden and… Read More
Type: Resources
(Less waste toolkit) Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-HH) is a nonprofit academic health system that serves a patient population of 1.2 million in New England. The main campus, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), In 2014, DHMC generated 2,867.5 tons of waste and had a 35% reuse and recycling rate. As part of a five-year strategic goal planning process in 2015, D-HH’s Environmental Sustainability Council identified two key goals: reduce the total pounds of waste per square foot by 10%, and achieve a 50% reuse and recycling rate. In order to put a plan in place to meet these targets,… Read More
Type: Resources
A visual guide to Gundersen Lutheran's waste separation process.
Type: Resources
The energy and equipment needed to safely evacuate Waste Anesthesia Gas (WAG) in the Operating Room (OR) may be operating during unoccupied periods, wasting energy and wearing out equipment. Concurrently, minimizing the atmospheric exhaust of WAG is considered a key strategy in reducing a health facility’s carbon footprint. The global warming potential over 100 years (GWP100) of commonly used anesthetic agents and medical gases is significant: sevoflurane 130x, isoflurane 510x, and desflurane 2540x one metric equivalent of carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrous oxide (298x) persists in the… Read More
Type: Resources
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