How to Reduce Waste Costs at a Hospital

Hospitals generate an enormous amount of waste every day. The cost of this waste hurts hospitals' ability to fund new programs and show a profit. The costs may also be passed on to patients and their insurers. In addition, not all waste disposal methods are environmentally friendly. Hospitals can take steps to reduce waste costs and pollution without compromising the health and safety of workers or patients.

Things You'll Need

• Recycling containers

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Instructions

• 1

  Separate waste properly. The greatest factor in high hospital waste costs is improperly segregated material. Many hospitals dispose of over 50 percent of their waste as Regulated Medical Waste (RMW). RMW is any medical items such as needles, bandages and IV bags that have come into contact with patients. These items must be incinerated, at a much greater cost than general waste disposal. It is more cost-effective for the hospital to incinerate only RMW and not general waste.

• 2

  Train staff on opportunities to reduce waste. General paper waste may be reduced by favoring electronic media over printed materials. Many formerly disposable products can be cleaned and reused, such as rechargeable batteries, hospital gowns, water pitchers and underpads used on beds.

• 3

  Implement a recycling program. Hospitals must find a way to dispose of unavoidable waste products. Paper and plastics can be recycled. Recycling waste materials not only reduces waste costs, but also reduces the amount of waste that ends up in a landfill. In many cases, recycling centers offer hauling discounts to hospitals.