Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., has announced that it is participating in a new “green” program to reduce its carbon footprint. Baptist began April 5, 2011, using reusable sharps containers to prevent a significant amount of cardboard and plastic from going to the landfill each year by switching to the Sharps Management Service using Bio Systems reusable containers by Stericycle which keeps an average of 600 disposable sharps containers from going to the landfill for each reusable container used with this system.
U.S. hospitals generate 6,600 tons of waste each day1. Whether hospitals choose to use disposable or reusable sharps containers, their regulated medical waste must be properly segregated and disposed for environmental and compliance reasons. Disposable containers end up in landfills, contributing to the sizable carbon footprint the healthcare industry makes.
A fall 2009 study by the University of Chicago Hospitals was published in JAMA2 and found that the American healthcare sector accounts for 8 percent of the U.S. carbon footprint. The analysis found that hospitals are by far the largest contributor of carbon emissions in the healthcare sector, and the second most energy intensive industry3. The EPA is upping its efforts to reduce carbon emissions across the U.S. as part of its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2012 from its 2009 baseline.
A carbon footprint is measured by how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted into the earth’s atmosphere. These carbon emissions are a result of plastic and cardboard that is added to landfills; however, in partnership with Stericycle, Baptist Medical Center will prevent thousands of plastic containers from making it to a landfill. Stericycle’s Carbon Footprint Estimator tool is designed to help U.S. hospitals gauge the amount of plastic, cardboard and CO2 emissions they are able to keep out of the environment by switching from disposable containers to reusable containers.
Based on the results of the Stericycle Carbon Footprint Estimator tool, WCMC will divert 53,868 pounds of plastic and 4,161 pounds of cardboard from local landfills in one year. The 31,963 pounds of CO2 prevented is equivalent to not using 1,646 gallons of gasoline.
“Using the Sharps Management System by Stericycle is environmentally responsible and helps us reduce our carbon impact, which is important for Baptist Medical Center as we place great value on protecting the environment and the community we are a part of,” said Baptist Clinical Director Dawn Davis, RN, BSN.
Since 1986, U.S. hospitals using the Stericycle Sharps Management System Bio Systems reusable containers have kept more than 91.8 million disposable containers out of landfills.
Comments