Health Care Businesses Save With Recycling

Hospitals and health care centers can save plenty of money each year by increasing recycling efforts and reducing waste. A recent study conducted by the University of Illinois investigated various sustainable practices adopted by health care systems and looked for areas identified as most worthy of adoption across the board for cost savings.

Two of the primary areas were to reduce waste disposal fees through increased recycling efforts and to reduce medical waste through enhanced segregation practices within the facility.

When making a concerted effort to reduce waste, facilities saved on average between fifty cents and two dollars and fifty centers per day per patient. Improving recycling efforts yields great savings with minimal upfront costs. Some of the biggest savings were to be found in ensuring that medical waste, which is more costly to dispose of, be segregated from other forms into of combined into one. Training staff and employees on new disposal practices does take time but can yield significant cost reductions over time.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Medical waste is considered hazardous and needs to be handled in accordance with state and federal regulations. However, not all waste leaving a health care facility is medical. You can save money and help the environment when you recycle suitable material waste!