Tools and resources

Standardized environmental criteria guidance

• Sustainable procurement
• Chemicals

Standardized environmental criteria technical details (Sustainable procurement guide) Practice Greenhealth’s standardized environmental criteria are explained in detail below in order for suppliers and health care organizations to understand the intent, rationale, and applications to products. General disclosure Responses to the following criteria are for information and may or may not be…

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High success through low RMW rates

• Regulated medical waste
• Fluid management systems
• Guide
• Greening the Operating Room

Regulated medical waste (RMW) is one area where continuous education, communication, assessment, and tracking are critical to maintaining low generation rates. Due to a surgical department’s very nature, it’s unlikely that RMW will ever be eliminated, but since as much as 30% of a facility’s RMW is from the operating room, it’s a great place to focus efforts. Practice Greenhealth and Healthier…

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St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center: medical waste reduction

• Case Study
• Waste
• Regulated medical waste
• Toolkit

(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…

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How to reduce regulated medical waste

• Guide
• Waste
• Regulated medical waste
• Toolkit

(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…

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Typical categories of medical waste

• Waste
• Medical Waste

The typical categories of medical waste and details regarding state-regulated treatment.   

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Medical waste treatment and disposal

• Waste
• Medical Waste

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…

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Pharmaceutical waste background

• Waste
• Pharmaceutical Waste
• Guide

Increased awareness around the presence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water has resulted in closer scrutiny and increased regulatory oversight of pharmaceutical waste.  Evidence of feminization of fish raised a red flag and resulted in more studies, closer scrutiny, and concern for human health and the environment.  The U.S. Geological Survey has done extensive work to characterize…

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How your state regulates red bag waste

• Waste
• Medical Waste

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…

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Circles of Excellence Honorees

• Awards

The Circle of Excellence Awards celebrate hospitals who have not only earned an award for all-around sustainability achievement, but who have also been identified as the top scoring programs for each category of sustainability. LEADERSHIP CIRCLE It all starts with leadership. The Leadership Circle represents the high-performing hospitals that have a strong infrastructure supporting a…

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Waste Posters Flyers Overlook Hospital

• Waste
• Regulated medical waste
• Exemplary Document
• Overlook Hospital
• Poster

Open this resource to see an example of a poster on regulated medical waste disposal from Overlook Medical Center.

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