Waste Minimization

As much as 80% of the waste produced in healthcare centres is not hazardous but ordinary waste like that from homes and offices. If it is not mixed with more dangerous wastes, much of it can be reused or recycled. This can reduce the amount spent on specialist treatment and disposal, and even produce income from the sale of paper, plastic and other recyclables.

The first step is to put in place a rigorous segregation program. Sorting healthcare waste once it has been mixed is extremely hazardous and should never be attempted.

HCWH has been collaborating with hospitals around the Philippines and found it was possible to reuse or recycle numerous products. As well as the well-known recyclables such as paper and glass, markets or secondary uses were found for everything from printer cartridges to used cooking oil cans.

Food waste was either composted for use on the hospital grounds, or sold for animal feed. A committee also met once a month to find new ways to reuse products. Different hospitals found a variety of ways to utilise the money saved or earned from their new waste management practices- in one case there was enough to pay the salary of the waste manager, making the whole system self-sustaining. Read more in the Philippines Best Practices report (pdf).

Another important step that healthcare facilities can take is to reduce the number of unnecessary injections. Many patients have an unfounded belief that injections are better than pills. However, the used syringes are capable of spreading infections like HIV and hepatitis. Wherever a treatment can be given orally, that should be the preferred method.

The procurement department should consider the amount and toxicity of waste generated by a specific product before purchasing. For example, products containing PVC, mercury, silver, BPA or other toxic materials should be avoided wherever possible. Reusable — from food ware to those medical devices that can be safely sterilised and reused — should be favoured over disposables. Where the products themselves are equivalent, choosing the one with the lighter or more easily recycled packaging can make a genuine difference to the balance between wastes that the facility has to pay to dispose of and that which it can sell for recycling.

Healthcare facilities should develop procurement policies with waste minimisation in mind. Low-toxicity, low-waste products should be trialled to make sure they are reliable and easy to use, and then added to the purchasing policy through a decision of the waste management committee or other decision-making structure.