How To Conduct a Waste Baseline Less Waste
How To Conduct a Waste Baseline Less Waste
Welcome! Janet Howard Director, Member Engagement, Healthier Hospitals jhoward@practicegreenhealth. org 866. 598. 2110 www. practicegreenhealth. org www. healthierhospitals. org www. noharm. org
Why Waste? • US hospitals generate more than 5 million tons of waste annually. • Landfills produce methane, six times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. • Incinerated waste produces greenhouse gases, emit dioxin and heavy metals including mercury • Pharmaceuticals are found in drinking water. • Food services alone makes up 25% of overall health care waste. • US EPA and USDA have set a goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2020. • Health Care waste is complex – electronics, protected health information, potentially infectious material. • Joint Commission requires a hazardous material and waste management plan.
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Less Waste While some health care environmental impacts are hard to see, understand, or quantify, waste is different. The less waste challenge offers win-win strategies that will both improve environmental performance and offer cost saving strategies. https: //practicegreenhealth. org/sites/default/files/upload-files/hhi-booklet-waste-bu_v 3. 0_baseline. pdf
Less Waste Report baseline of pounds of solid waste, regulated medical waste, hazardous waste and recyclables on an ongoing basis. Continue tracking while implementing waste reduction programs. Regulated Medical Waste Reduction Reduce regulated medical waste to less than 10 percent of total waste or 8 tons per operating room per year. Recycling Achieve a 15 percent recycling rate Achieve an 80% recycling rate for construction and demolition debris
GET STARTED GUIDES HOW-TO CONDUCT A BASELINE RMW RECYCLING C&D RECYCLING DEFINING MATERIALS & STREAMS LESS WASTE TOOLKIT – CASE STUDIES, EPP SPECIFICATIONS, POSTERS, RECORDED HOW-TO AND MORE! HTTPS: //PRACTICEGREENHEALTH. ORG/TOPICS/LESSWASTE
Measure Details • Baseline: Report a waste baseline for: • • • Solid waste, Regulated medical waste, Recycling and Hazardous waste Pharmaceutical waste
Step by Step Identify the team: • • • Environmental Services Waste Hauler Purchasing or Accounts Payable Facilities/New Construction Laboratories • Committees – Joint Commission, Quality Safety, Green Team, Wellness
Who Removes your material… q q q q Regulated Medical Waste Tissues from Surgery or autopsy Pathological Waste Sharps Waste Hazardous Pharmaceuticals Nonhazardous Pharmaceuticals Controlled Substances (if not sewered) Solid Waste Recyclables HIPAA Recyclables Electronics Food Waste (if separated from solid waste) Grease from Kitchen Laboratory Waste Facilities Management refrigerants, oils or other wastes Xrays (if you have them)
What’s Your Waste Profile? © 2011 Practice Greenhealth. All Rights Reserved.
BASELINE – AKA WASTE AUDIT
Step by Step of Data Details for this Measure Nonregulated Medical Waste, Solid Waste, Black Bag
Nonregulated Medical Waste or Municipal Solid Waste WHAT IS IT? § § Majority of the waste stream General refuse including food, flowers, packaging, non-recyclable plastics, gloves, non-bloody instrumentation HOW IS IT MEASURED? § • • Invoice review Compactor review Pick up frequency Mini or smaller dumpsters Review compactor weights! SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS • • No weights Conversion factors
Regulated Medical Waste or Red Bag Waste • WHAT IS IT? (STATE by STATE REGS & OSHA) • • 2% to 50% of waste Blood, products of blood, anything caked, soaked or dripping in blood Tissues from Surgery or autopsy, trace chemotherapy, certain body fluids as defined by OSHA (see how to guide) HIGHLY communicable diseases as per CDC, pathological waste, sharps • • HOW IS IT MEASURED? • Invoice review, vendor reports SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS • • No weights Conversion factors Treated waste Pharmaceuticals
Invoice Review
Recycling WHAT IS IT? § Material that is segregated and processed as a commodity to make into a new product. Examples – universal waste, corrugated boxes, HIPAA/confidential paper/PHI, mixed-grade paper, mixed plastics, beverage containers, blue wrap, shrink wrap and composting. HOW IS IT MEASURED? § On-site weights to develop conversion (per bin, per toter) § Compactor weights, bale weights SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS • • Universal waste No weights Conversion factors Markets and recyclability
What is recycling?
Hazardous Material WHAT IS IT? § One percent of total waste (approximately). § Materials that meet the definition as per EPA’s RCRA including mercury, formaldehyde, alcohol, oil, degreasers, certain pharmaceuticals and cytotoxic drugs, lead and more. HOW IS IT MEASURED? • Manifests, invoices and other reports. • • SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS No weights Pharmaceuticals Spills Electronics Conversion factors Markets and recyclability
What are Controlled Substances? WHAT IS IT? • Category of pharmaceuticals listed by DEA as drugs of abuse. HOW IS IT MEASURED? • • Depending on how it is discarded – if sewered, it isn’t measured. If rendered irretrievable and incinerated, the volume can be captured by SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS • • • Most hospitals still sewer their wasted controlled substances. This is an emerging issue for sustainability teams Seek guidance from Practice Greenhealth
Diversion versus recycling: • Medical equipment donation, Furniture refurbish and reuse, computers, linens, Books; reusable pallets • Fluid management in the OR; SUD reprocessing, reusable sharps containers. • Rigid cases for sterilization in the OR; reformulated OR kits to eliminate excess supplies. , • Reusable Linens: Surgical drapes, surgical gowns, incontinent products, isolations gowns, scrubs. • Reusable Products Checklist: Totes for internal deliveries, shipping containers, RMW shipping containers • Service ware: food service ware, Polystyrene (Styrofoam) elimination, compostable and biodegradable products, and food donation
• Communicate with vendors about regular reports • Work with purchasing and accounts payable to the person who will be capturing the data. • Ensure that any and all wastes and materials are captured • Kitchen oil • Batteries • Facilities, laboratories, HIPAA, bulbs, computers • Talk to purchasing, speak environmental services, Scrutinize those invoices! • Set up a form, identify reporting committee or group, chart data
Data Submission Support is also available through our Data Coordinator on the Third Thursday of the Month at 2 EST Christopher Bodkin 603 -491 -6106 Monday- Friday, 9: 00 am-5: 00 pm ET cbodkin@practicegreenhealth. org
Thank you!! §Check out the Less Waste Pages: –Case Studies –Get Started Guides –Recorded Webinars –Posters –Templates and more…. .
Thank you Janet Howard Director, Member Engagement, Healthier Hospitals jhoward@practicegreenhealth. org 866. 598. 2110 www. practicegreenhealth. org www. noharm. org
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