Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities
What Can They Do?
 
Incineration is linked to serious illness and diseases, so
hospitals have a natural stake
in reducing their incineration to the bare minimum. That minimum is far less than the
22-25 million pounds of waste burned yearly at Stericycle in Haw River, NC.[1]
North Carolina heathcare facilities generated 62%
of Stericycle's waste for incineration over the past 7 years.[2]
"Far more materials are incinerated in the average medical waste incinerator
than necessary to protect the public from disease. Only 15% of hospital waste is considered
infectious waste that requires special treatment. Pathological waste -- tissues and organs
is the only type of waste that must be incinerated. (Rutala and Mayhall, 1992) Two leaders
in medical waste management, Hollie Shaner of the Nightingale Institute and Laura Brannon of
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, estimate that pathological waste comprises only 2% of
average hospital waste (Environmental Working Group/Health Care Without Harm, 1997).
Non-pathological waste can be treated in other ways, such as autoclaving and microwaving."
Source: Sustainable Hospitals
"So what else can hospitals do with their medical waste?" In a word the answer is,
"Plenty."
Some hospitals have already started.
These hospitals use environmentally responsible waste management procedures
including non-incineration alternative technologies. This includes those mentioned above (eg, autoclave, microwave) plus some
other new technologies. Procedures carefully insure
patient/staff safety issues and compliance with the many levels of rules and regulations covering
medical
waste disposal. In the process of making these changes, hospitals often realize lowered
costs. Incineration is already a very expensive disposal method with ever increasing costs.
Hospital staff and administrators (and interested community members) may want to look at a
few resources for considering such medical waste management
practices. They show it is possible to keep incineration to the bare minimum.
We call upon hospitals and healthcare facilities in NC and elsewhere to become part of
the solution, not the problem. We urge them to make a pledge to their patients and
community to be good stewards of our public health and environment by using alternatives
to incineration.
| "What is the right thing? Simply put, it is the elimination of all incineration of medical waste not
required by law to be burned."
Martha Hamblin, GASP, at Stericyle Annual Stockholder Meeting
|
1, 2 NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Division of Waste Management. Incinerator Annual Reports 7/1/2000 - 6/30/2007 for Stericycle, Inc.
|
