Tools and resources

Greening the OR checklist

• Greening the Operating Room
• Waste
• Tool

As one of the largest users of supplies and generators of hospital waste, the operating room (OR) is a strategic priority for any hospital hoping to reduce its impact on the environment. This tool is designed to assist health care providers in assessing the status of environmental best practices in the OR.

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Managing pharmaceutical waste: A 10-step blueprint

• Waste
• Pharmaceutical Waste
• Guide
• Less Waste

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…

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NYU Langone: Contracting Purchasing (2016)

• Waste
• Chemicals
• Exemplary Document
• Hazardous and universal waste
• Policy
• NYU Langone Medical Center

NYU Langone Medical Center provides an example of a safety policy on the proper management and disposal of hazardous waste from contractors involved in construction and building maintenance. The purpose of this policy is to protect human health and the environment and to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.   View this resource to read the full policy from…

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Extended producer responsibility factsheet

• EPP
• EPP Resource
• Guide
• Purchasing
• Waste
• Recycling

One easy step government entities, businesses and institutions (such as hospitals and universities) can take to implement extended producer responsibility (EPR) is to buy from manufacturers that agree to collect and recycle their products when they reach the end of their useful life. This fact sheet explains how EPR – also called product stewardship – has been, and can be, added to policies and…

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Planning a battery recycling program for your health care facility

• Waste
• Hazardous and universal waste
• Guide
• Recycling

To avoid disposal costs and environmental and human health effects associated with battery disposal in landfills or incinerators, recycle your old batteries. With proper planning, a battery recycling program can provide good public relations, increased employee morale, and potential savings from the elimination of battery disposal.

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Environmental considerations for rapid test kits

• Sustainable procurement
• EPP
• Medical products
• Waste
• Mercury

There are several environmental considerations for rapid test screen kits including waste minimization, mercury, and PVC. This guide includes sample request for proposal language and other factors to consider when purchasing rapid test screen kits. 

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RMW Reduction Clinical Plastics Recycling: Clinical Plastics Virginia Mason 2016

• Waste
• Reuse or Donate
• Textile Reuse
• Exemplary Document
• Virginia Mason
• Guide
• Policy

The Warm Toes Project at Virginia Mason donates PACU socks to the homeless. Virginia Mason has donated an average of 10 pounds of socks per week to Mary's Place Homeless Shelter, which would have otherwise gone in the trash, eliminating disposal costs and diverting 520 pounds per year from the landfill.

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University of Maryland Medical Center: Reusable textiles in the OR

• Greening the Operating Room Case Study
• Waste
• Case Study

University of Maryland Medical Center has been using reusable gowns and basins in their operating rooms for 15 years. In 2007, UMMC staff started a green team to decrease the facility's negative impact on the environment. A review of the hospital's waste disposal system led administrators to reduce the amount of waste the facility generates.

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University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview: OR kit reformulation

• Greening the Operating Room Case Study
• Waste
• Case Study

Through the establishment of a voluntary operating room green team, University of Minnesota Medical Center's Dr. Rafael Andrade has been dedicated to improving the health of the environment by working to reduce the amount of waste his procedures generate.

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Waste Education Legacy Good Samaritan

• Waste
• Exemplary Document
• Legacy Health
• Education
• Presentation
• Waste

Health care is a huge generator of waste materials. While some wastes are difficult to avoid, many waste types can be reduced, and others can be recovered and recycled. This employee education presentation focuses on the best ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, and properly dispose of waste in Legacy Health facilities.

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