3 0
O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5
.
5. Recycle medical plastic
An important component of an OR waste reduction program
includes collaborating with your waste management vendor to recycle
clean medical plastics. Recycling bins in ORs are a much more com-
mon sight today, and education and signage make it convenient for
staff to divert recyclable materials into the appropriate waste stream.
The nursing staff in the ORs of Fletcher Allen Medical Center in
Burlington, Vt., initiated a recycling program in 2010 that achieved a
38% recycling rate, which results in approximately 50 tons of recycla-
ble material being collected annually at a savings of roughly $6,000.
Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., initiated a medical plastics
recycling program in its 45 ORs in 2007. The program saved the health
system more than $200,000 and diverted 2,943 tons of waste. In 2010,
the OR recycled 42,500 pounds of blue wrap, saving $1,300 in avoided
waste costs.
6. Use rigid sterilization containers
Disposable sterilization wrap is polypropylene (plastic #5) and it
comprises 19% of OR waste (osmag.net/Eu6ZfF). To reduce and divert
the material, hospitals are using rigid sterilization containers for high-
volume instrument sets and packs. In 2014, Dartmouth Hitchcock
Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., implemented rigid sterilization con-
tainers for 50% of its instrument sets to avoid generating 20 tons of
waste and spending more than $122,000 on sterile wrap and subse-
quent disposal fees. Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame,
Calif., purchased rigid sterilization containers in 2006 at a cost of
$34,987 and saved $25,173 in avoided blue wrap purchases and
$26,000 in rewrapping costs (for torn sterilization wrap), achieving a
B U S I N E S S A D V I S O R
