Eliminating the Wastefulness of Medical Waste with Environmentally Friendly Alternatives

I have seen firsthand the wastefulness that occurs in many health care facilities. I should mention that my mother has worked in a hospital for over 30 years. Anyone who has ever been to a medical provider can see it with their own eyes the trash and the waste that can occur during even just a routine check up. Hospitals are the second largest waste producer in the world, with the food industry reigning supreme. There are many reasons for this statistic such as population growth, longer lives, more health care options (and we hope better ones) as well the increased use of "disposable" products are used.

Hospital waste facts and figures

-Healthcare facilities produce 6,600 tons of waste per day.

-As much as 80% of healthcare wastes are solids, including plastics, glass, metals and paper.

Of all Hospital Solid Waste

53% is paper

3% is metals

15% is plastics

17% is food or organics

Packaging accounts for up to 43% of all hospital trash.

Medical waste is disposed of incinerating infectious waste and non-infectious medical waste end up in landfills.

Examples of medical wastefulness

After just one use, such as to remove stitches, the scissors used are thrown away. Many medical tools, such as these scissors could be used again if sterilized properly, says the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine journal, Academic Medicine, recently published article on the results of a study investigating hospital waste. Other findings suggest that: many new instruments are used just once and thrown away; these same instruments would be perfectly safe to use if sterilized properly; and often a tool from the operating room is tossed simply because the package was opened, even if the tool was never used.

Dr. Martin Makary of Johns Hopkins says that items from towels and gowns to cutting devices could be sterilized or recalibrated and reused safely. He also says that pulse sensors like those worn on the finger, compression sleeves and drills for example, can be sent to reprocessing companies and recycled instead of being trashed.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that "all medical waste materials are segregated at the point of generation, appropriately treated and disposed of safely".

More about recycled medical waste:

-Recycled medical devices cost only half as much as new ones?

-Only a quarter of hospitals are using recycled devices?

Yes, the proper disposal of medical waste is of paramount importance as it can have a negative effect on both the environment and our health, but only approximately 20% of all medical waste produced is considered hazardous, radioactive, infectious or toxic. The U.S. Government Accountability Office says that recycled medical devices are no riskier than new devices.

Environmentally friendly health care providers

These health care providers have instituted a number of environmentally friendly alternatives. Health care facilities in Phoenix, Arizona taut a 15 million dollar savings annually by reusing recyclable medical devices that were previously thrown out.

Nurses in the maternal and child health unit at the hospital in Santa Cruz, California are so crucial. Nurses realized that every time a baby was delivered that they were opening up three packages of supplies. Connie Gabriel-Wilson, RN and others convinced the suppliers to reduce those three packages into one. Eco-friendly hospital solutions like these can significantly reduce hospital waste.

In three years of making changes to their clinic implementing environmentally friendly practices Huron Hospital and Medical group reduced its solid waste by 37 percent - going from 50 tons per month to 32 tons per month. That led to a savings of $11,000 in 2007, plus they made $1,900 from recycling paper and metal.

Green conscious nurses in Portland, Oregon were not happy with the packaging of their sterile gloves in a plastic that was not. Knowing that in some cases a picture is worth a thousand words, the nurses collected 60 pounds of the plastic and sent it to the supplier saying, "You need to change your packaging." The result? The company started folding the gloves in half and reduced the packaging by half too.

One supplier to hospitals in Lowell, Massachusetts was convinced to eliminate items from surgery packets that just weren't used often enough. This change not only went "green" but saved green too by eliminating 11,000 pounds of waste and $30,000 in wasted expenses.

Green ideas for hospitals, medical centers and health care providers

Use CFL lights whenever possible

Implement electronic files and records, ordering of supplies etc.

Double sided printing

Recycled ink jet cartridges

Use "recycled" magazines for the waiting room brought in and donated by employees (remove mailing labels first)

Use regular dishes in break rooms - where will they come from have a dish drive where employees donate dishes to the cause

Reuse file folders, interoffice envelopes and charts using labels

Instruct your patients on the proper disposal of medications so they don't contaminant our water system

Use "gently used" imaging equipment instead of new machines

Recycle or donate your old computer systems

Use products that can be sterilized and reused.

Look carefully at hospital supplies for environmentally friendly alternatives

Ecologically Sustainable Medicine offers more ideas and methods for going green when wearing hospital green.

Could the use of biodegradable, recycled and reusable health care products, supplies and materials accomplish so much more than helping the environment? It is possible that while trying to heal the ills of the current health care system that taking steps down the greener path could also decrease health care costs? Have you ever looked at an itemized health care invoice? Simple steps made from the waiting to the operating room can not only save the environment, but possibly much of our health care system too. But it takes more than changes by medical providers, it takes the caring and acceptance of patients to help create and continue these environmentally healthy health care practices.

Sources:

World Health Organization

http://www.healthandenvironment.org/working_groups/wash

http://www.envirohealthaction.org/index.cfm

Physicians for Social Responsibility

Commentary: A Call to Go Green in Health Care by Reprocessing Medical Equipment