Developing a sustainable system for managing and reducing medical waste

Stephanie Ng, RNUniversity Health Services | UT Austin

Objectives Examine the importance of reducing the

environmental impact of student health centers

Define methods for assessing waste patterns

Discuss how to develop, implement, and evaluate a waste reduction and recycling plan

Field questions

Promote Healthy Values “Do no harm”

Environmental Benefit Hospitals and medical facilities are

some of the largest waste producers in the country

Fiscal Benefit Cheaper to make products using

recycled materials Save on landfill and incinerator costs

Health and Sustainability Human health and environmental health

are linked

Types of Waste Solid waste Regulated medical waste Hazardous waste Pharmaceutical waste Universal waste Recyclables Construction and Demolition Debris Composting

Reduce Biohazard Waste Biggest cost for us

Other consequences: Incineration Can set an example for labs across

campus and future medical school

Increase Recycling Surprising amount of supplies and

equipment can be recycled!

Reduce solid waste UHS produces ~91 lbs of waste/day

That’s ~455 lbs/week

Products in Use Most commonly used materials and

supplies

Financial Resources Green Fee Grant

Establish Realistic Goals

  Current Statistics

Goals % difference

Solid Waste 68.9% 60% -12.9%

Recycling 15% 30% +100%

Hazardous Material

16% 10% -37.5%

Metrics Weigh waste (Penn State) Survey staff

Support from Organizational Leadership An absolute MUST!

Phased Culture Shift Need to get staff

on board Implement in

small, achievable steps

Incentives

How to Get Started Who are the departments you will

collaborate with? Material management department Facilities, EH&S, and custodial staff

Who are your vendors? Who is your recycling vendor? What

can they recycle? Do you need to find specialized vendors?

How to Get Started What is the current process your health

center uses to take out solid, recycling, and biohazard waste?

How much is going into your 3 streams? What are other departments on campus

doing? Which of your staff are on board?

The Plan Educate, educate, educate Place single stream recycling bins in

break rooms and nurses’ stations

The Plan Educate Place single stream recycling bins in

break rooms and nurses’ stations Place recycling bins in every exam room Place a graphic in every exam room

The Plan Educate Place single stream recycling bins in

break rooms and nurses’ stations Place recycling bins in every exam room Place a graphic in every exam room Initiate pilot trials of nitrile glove

recycling in WH, UC, and lab

The Plan Educate Place single stream recycling bins in

break rooms and nurses’ stations Place recycling bins in every exam room Place a graphic in every exam room Initiate pilot trials of nitrile glove

recycling in WH, UC, and lab Experiment with smaller biohazard bins

Implementation Pilot Trial #1

In Urgent Care & Women’s Health for 2 weeks Outfit every exam room with a recycling bin

and graphic Determine how easy or difficult it is for

clinical staff to divert waste into correct receptacle by surveying staff

Staff education

Implementation Pilot Trial #2

Roll out in General Medicine, Sports Medicine, & Lab for 2 weeks

Implementation Pilot Trial #3: Nitrile glove recycling in

Urgent Care, Women’s Health, & Lab

Evaluation Weigh waste

Analyze any statistical differences from Fall 2013 data

Surveyed staff

Evaluation

  Fall 2013 Stats

Goals Spring 2014 Stats

Solid Waste 65.4% 60% 58.4%

Recycling 14.3% 30% 33.8%

Hazardous Material

20.3% 10% 7.8%

Some Thoughts for the Future Are exam table paper and pillows

necessary?

Some Thoughts for the Future Composting

AcknowledgmentsBIG thank you to the following people!

Kathy Mosteller Ben Lara & the materials management team Karen Blaney & the Office of Sustainability Sally Moore, Fidel Garcia, Patricia Maurizi Schiff, &

the custodial team Nena Anderson, Joe Bussey, & the EH&S team Darlene Mitchell & the SSB Building Management

team All of UHS’ nurse managers

Resources Healthier Hospitals Initiative (2012).

Healthier Hospitals Initiative. Retrieved from http://healthierhospitals.org/

Practice Greenhealth. (2013). Practice Greenhealth. Retrieved from https://practicegreenhealth.org/

Rich, C.R., Singleton, J.K., Wadhwa, S.S. (2013). Sustainability for Healthcare Management: A leadership imperative. New York, NY: Routledge.

Other Examples Pennsylvania State University University of North Texas (UNT) Medical University of South Carolina

(MUSC) UT Southwestern

Questions