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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
Type: Basic page
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
The main task of a regulated treatment system is to render the waste noninfectious. The technical means to disinfect medical waste has existed for a long time. Incineration was once the method of choice for dealing with medical waste, and many hospitals burned their waste on site. But it gradually became clear that, while protecting the public from infection, hospitals using onsite incinerators were exposing the public to emissions that included mercury, dioxins, and other highly toxic substances. In 1996, medical waste incinerators were listed as the largest source of dioxin and in 1997, as… Read More
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
The typical categories of medical waste and details regarding state-regulated treatment.
Type: Resources
(Less waste toolkit) Because regulated medical waste (RMW) or red bag waste can cost between five to 10 times more than solid waste, over-use of red bag waste receptacles is like throwing away dollars. Depending on current practices, hospitals have saved thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars by addressing container over-use. If a facility generates more than 10 percent RMW, reducing this waste is a worthwhile priority due to the potential cost savings. In fact, CDC suggests that only three to five percent of hospital waste requires disposal as RMW. This step-… Read More
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
(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
Operating rooms generate as much as 60 percent of a hospital’s regulated, or "red bag," medical waste. Regulated medical waste is among the most heavily regulated and expensive waste streams to dispose of, in part because of the hazard it poses to people and the environment if improperly handled.
Virtually all waste generated during case setup is sterile and can be safely recycled. Working with infection control and environmental services to ensure applicable regulated medical waste definitions are clear and followed can be a game changer. When properly sorted, a significant portion of waste… Read More
Type: Basic page
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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