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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… Read More
Type: Basic page
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
Type: Basic page
Several Pacific Northwest sustainability leads were inspired by the collaborative research, assessment, and solutions developed by Dr. Brian Chesebro and Andy Mason from Providence St. Vincent Medical Center that was presented during the 2022 CleanMed Conference. With continued interest, the group convened a collaborative to expand their solutions across the region with the goal of transforming the delivery method of nitrous oxide within hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to radically reduce leaks and resulting greenhouse gas emissions.
More than 150 attendees participated in the… Read More
Type: Resources
View this resource to see an example of a recycling poster from Boston Medical Center and Stericycle.
Type: Resources
Open this resource to view an employee education presentation from the University of Vermont Medical Center on recycling.
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
Concerns over infection prevention, continued increase in the use of single-use, disposable plastics, and changes in international recycling markets and a lack of U.S.-based material recovery facilities have left operating rooms awash in single-use medical plastics. Additionally, a 0.5 percent contamination rate requirement on marketable medical plastics has challenged the compliance of many hospital recycling programs.
One ubiquitous medical plastic, ”blue wrap,” is estimated to make up almost 20 percent of all operating room waste. While these plastics do an excellent job of keeping… Read More
Type: Basic page
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
Type: Basic page
Open this resource to see an example of a poster on regulated medical waste disposal from Overlook Medical Center.
Type: Resources
(Less waste toolkit) Hospitals are pouring, burying, burning and cooking garbage made up of plastics, chemicals, paper, food, needles, packaging and lots of electronic equipment. With rising waste removal fees, beach wash-ups, medical waste incinerators identified as a major source of mercury in the environment and the Associated Press’ recent investigation on pharmaceutical waste in the country’s drinking water, it’s undeniable that “away” is a rotary that loops right back to where we started. Steps hospitals take to make less “stuff” can reduce dollars thrown in the trash and help to… Read More
Type: Resources
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