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About Establishing A Healthcare Plastics Recycling Program

 

85 % of the plastic waste generated in healthcare facility is nonhazardous, meaning free from patient contact and contamination, according to a case study on “Solid Waste Reduction in U.S. Hospitals”

 

The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council is developing a guide with supporting tools to help hospitals navigate the process of initiating a plastics recycling program in a patient care.

 

First and foremost, plastic recycling in a patient care setting is an advanced recycling option. Many critical components should be considered such as adequate dock space to manage the plastic waste and dock-out processes, certain equipment and supplies such as balers, compactors and carts, etc.

 

When implementing a Healthcare Plastics Recycling Program facilities, professionals must follow a strategy that either targets limited products or selected areas.

 

In case of targeting limited products, once collection and recycling of the limited products have been implemented across multiple areas, other products can be added incrementally. Good candidates for this strategy include irrigation bottles, rigid plastic trays and basins, plastic nonwoven sterilization wrap and flexible clear packaging. In case of targeting selected area, sterile with a small footprint, large volumes of patient processing and repetitive lowpressure activities (e.g., nontrauma areas) should be chosen. Within this selected area, all plastic products should be collected and recycled. Areas appropriate for this strategy include catheterization labs, pharmacies, radiology and anesthesia areas.

 

Training programs should be tailored to reflect a facility’s specific recycling program with respect to affected personnel, departments and plastics to be included.

 

It’s imperative to regularly audit the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Program within the hospital and at the recycling partner operations as well. Audits should include samples of materials being collected and should identify nonconforming items and types of contamination.

 

Ref: http://www.hfmmagazine.com/hfmmagazine/
jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=HFMMAGAZINE/
Article/data/01JAN2013/0113HFM_FEA_EnviromentServices
&domain=HFMMAGAZINE

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