Recycling, reprocessing can save you big bucks
Inova Health System in Falls Church, VA, has targeted recycling, with great success. At one hospital alone, Inova Fairfax, recycling saved about $37,000 in 2008, according to Seema Wadhwa, LEED AP, sustainability engineer at Inova.
Industry best practices dictate that about 10% of waste should be regulated medical waste, Wadhwa says. Ideally, about 30% should be recycling, she says.
Recycling can save a lot of money, says Ravindra Gupta, MD, hospitalist and co-chair of the Sustainability Committee, Inova Health System in Falls Church, VA. "Depending on the amount of waste generated, the cost to recycle is significantly less than the cost to throw away," he says.
In one month, Inova Fairfax recycles 83 tons, Gupta says. "That's a hug amount diverted from the landfill," Gupta says.
Oregon Health and Science University in Portland recycles 300 pounds of uncontaminated paper and plastic every day, according to Juliana E. Hansen, MD, FACS, the university's chief of plastic surgery.
At the outpatient surgery center, an expert was brought in from the city recycling program to speak to the staff and to discuss the types of materials that would be able to be recycled from the operating room, Hansen says.
"The staff was educated as a group before the program started, not told to comply with a system that was already in place," she says. "This was a really important factor in the success of the program because as it rolled out, the staff 'buddied up' to remind each other about the right things to recycle."
Each operating room has two bins in it that are a different color than the trash and the hazardous waste bins. One is marked "blue wrap" and the other "mixed," and both say "no trash" and "no biohazard" with the recycling logo displayed prominently. "The staff are responsible for placing the correct materials in each bin: blue wrap that comes off the sterile trays and packs in one and all clean plastic and paper wrappers and packaging materials well as plastic bottles in the other," Hansen says.
The OR manager and the nurse champion of the program perform regular audits of the rooms and provide reminders to the nursing staff. "Additionally, the OR manager is in regular contact with the cleaning service and gets regular feedback from them," Hansen says. If the quantity of the recycling bags changes significantly or if any problems are identified, this information is communicated, she says. "This helps keep the recycling flowing."
Each bin on wheels cost $100, which was the "biggest initial investment."
Reprocessing saves money
Inova also has generated cost savings by reprocessing items labeled for single use. Inova reprocesses expensive items including trocars, catheters, and external fixators.
"We potentially could save a million dollars a year throughout our system," Gupta says. Inova uses Ascent Healthcare Solutions (www.ascenths.com) for reprocessing.
Inova also is piloting a composting program. The program will take food waste from the cafeteria, including compostable cups and utensils, and let them decompose into fertile soil. "It potentially will save a lot," Gupta says.
Inova Health System in Falls Church, VA, has targeted recycling, with great success. At one hospital alone, Inova Fairfax, recycling saved about $37,000 in 2008, according to Seema Wadhwa, LEED AP, sustainability engineer at Inova.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content