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Plastic Rich Environments: Tapping into Hospital Recycling

Plastic Rich Environments: Tapping into Hospital Recycling. Melissa Vargas-CIWMB California Resource Recovery Association August 6, 2008. Selecting Your Objective. To identify existing recycling programs within the hospital.

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Plastic Rich Environments: Tapping into Hospital Recycling

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  1. Plastic Rich Environments: Tapping into Hospital Recycling Melissa Vargas-CIWMB California Resource Recovery Association August 6, 2008

  2. Selecting Your Objective • To identify existing recycling programs within the hospital. • To identify potential areas within the hospital that could benefit from a recycling program that will reduce potential disposal costs as well as increase recycling.

  3. The Starting Point: Making The Right Connections • Local Government • California Integrated Waste Management Board-Local Assistance Market Development Rep. • Your Hauler/Recycler • Hospital Representative • Non-Profit Organizations

  4. Waste Assessments • Customize your waste assessment to maximize benefits for the hospital, local government and the environment.

  5. Example Of The CIWMB’s Waste Assessment Questionnaire

  6. Targeting Plastic Material For Recycling • Pick your plastic and hospital department • 19% of waste stream is in surgical services currently going to red bag or general trash • Tapping into the surgical services areas to maximize initial plastic recycling.

  7. What Is Blue Wrap? • Blue Wrap is made from polypropylene • Recycle Number 5 • Blue wrap is used for wrapping surgical instruments for sterilization. • Generated and used in only a few areas. • Sterile, uncontaminated material that can be diverted.

  8. Options For Hospitals To Minimize Waste Generated From Blue Wrap • Switch to surgical cases • Switch to fabric • Recycle the blue wrap

  9. Recycling Blue Wrap • Work with hauler • Recyclers • Janitorial/Hospital supply companies • Confidential document shredding companies

  10. Baled, Shipped and Sold! • CIWMB continues to work with various manufacturers to promote domestic markets. • Some material is currently brokered for International uses, however more domestic manufacturers are expressing interest in using the blue wrap as part of their feedstock for various products that range from pellets, railroad ties, pallets and more.

  11. Example of Blue Wrap Recycling Programs-Mills • Mills-Peninsula Health Services (MPHS) in Burlingame made a switch in Central Sterile Processing to using hard cases instead of Blue Wrap for containing instruments and supplies for sterilization prior to use in surgery. • According to the Sutter Health Contracts Office, Peninsula Medical Center used an estimated 14,475 pounds of Blue Wrap during 2006 at a cost of $35,962. MPHS spent $34,987 to purchase hard cases that have allowed them to reduce Blue Wrap use by an estimated 70 percent. • Many advantages in using hard cases.

  12. Example of Blue Wrap Recycling Programs-St. Joseph’s • St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton started recycling Blue Wrap in July 2006. In the 2006 Fiscal year (July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007), the medical center recycled 5,595 pounds of Blue Wrap. • Beginning in 2007, approximately 466.25 pounds of Blue Wrap is being recycled a month. • The used Blue Wrap is stored in one of the 96-gallon containers provided by their secure document shredding company. • The containers are kept in the sterile area right outside the Operating Rooms. • The secure document shredding company picks up the Blue Wrap once a week along with some other recyclables. • The secure document shredding company consolidates the blue wrap at their facility and sends it to a plastics recycler for processing.

  13. Example of Blue Wrap Recycling Programs-St. Mary’s • St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco has implemented a blue wrap recovery program. • The same highly-trained professionals, who deliver the blue wrap to the operating room or surgical suite, transports it to the on-site storage area. • The condensed and packaged Blue Wrap is held in a secured on-site storage area until it is picked-up by a major distributor to hospitals. • The distributor takes the material to its distribution center. • The Blue Wrap is then picked up by an Environmental Services (EVS) supply vendor. • The vendor forwards the material to other companies for processing into reusable materials, such as artificial siding for decks, docks, and housing.

  14. Tapping Into Available Resources CIWMB: Hospital Blue Wrap Team www.ciwmb.ca.gov/WPIE/HealthCare/ • Local government connections • Waste assessments for hospitals • Vendor listing of recyclers • Non-profit connections (Stopwaste.org etc)

  15. Resources Continued • (Stopwaste offers grants to Bay Area hospitals: Maia A. Coladonato, P.E.SAIC From Science to Solutions™1000 Broadway, Suite 675 Oakland, CA 94607 Tel: (510) 466-7162 Fax: (510) 446-7919 coladonatom@saic.com

  16. Resources Continued • U.S. EPA Region 9 (Wendy Shafir) Wendi Shafir (WST-7) Pollution Prevention Coordinator US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105  415.972.3422 415.947.3530 fax shafir.wendi@epa.gov http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/p2

  17. Contact Information Melissa Vargas CIWMB (916) 341-6271 mvargas@ciwmb.ca.gov

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