In fact, burning medical waste with chlorinated materials is the third biggest source of dioxins in the environment, says Health Care Without Harm (HCWH). Chlorinated materials, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), are especially problematic because incinerating waste with chlorinated content produces dioxins, which can cause cancer and hormonal defects. And this estimate does not even take into account the output of private medical and dental clinics, veterinarians, long-term care, laboratories and independent blood banks.Īccounting for 75-80% of a healthcare facility's waste, solid waste is the most sizeable portion, says H2E, encompassing paper, metal, glass and plastics. Hospitals produce over 6,600 tons of waste per day, estimates H2E, at least 15% more than 10 years ago due to the proliferation of disposable products.
The group's ultimate goal is reaching medical device designers so products have minimal environmental impact." What a Waste "H2E is also pursuing partnerships between manufacturers and distributors to establish methods that let distributors back-haul plastics to the manufacturer or plastic recyclers. "H2E hopes to provide the framework and initiate discussions on how the industry can create processes and infrastructure that develop take-back programs, or products and packaging that are stackable and returnable," says Brannen.
and Catholic Health Care West, both of California, is trying to create an advisory group that will delve into recycling and waste-reduction issues, such as decreasing medical packaging and recycling single-use plastics.Īnd the H2E program is attacking the environmental problem from many fronts. "Two years ago you couldn't get group purchasing organizations for hospitals to talk about environmentally preferable purchasing," says Laura Brannen, co-director for Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E), "but now many champion the cause." For instance, Baxter Healthcare of Illinois, one of the largest medical products manufacturers, together with group purchaser Premier Inc. But many manufacturers, vendors and suppliers are facing such obstacles head-on. And designing medical products to be easily disassembled and recycled continues to be confounding because many medical devices are required to be extra-toughable to endure falls and harsh sterilization.
For starters, increased use of disposable products has exacerbated hospital waste. The eco-friendliness drive is accelerating in the medical products industry, but the road to "green" is marked with many potholes. Learn how the industry is managing the journey toward "green": And recapturing medical equipment for recycling is even trickier. Designing medical products for recyclability is tough.
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