Stanford University Medical Center is another facility that saves a significant amount by recycling their medical waste instead of sending it to landfills, in part due to a move by the surrounding community.

The city of Palo Alto in California signed a zero waste ordinance in 2005, which helped set the vision for adopting a fee structure that encouraged residents and businesses to recycle. In 2009, they signed a 10-year franchise agreement with GreenWaste, Inc. to implement this new waste program. Stanford Hospital & Clinics, as a commercial customer, saves 75 to 80 percent per compactor pull for recyclable materials versus municipal waste, says Krisanne Hanson, director of sustainability at the hospital.


Going forward
For many years, it was not a common practice in hospitals to reprocess devices and segregate medical waste so it's a constant challenge to change, to go against what was the norm. It requires the conscious effort of the whole OR team to put waste in the correct trash can, says Johns Hopkins' Pilson.

"Now we're two years into it and we're still educating, reeducating over and over again, because we do have some mistakes that are made in the loading dock and we have to go back and reeducate again. It's an ongoing effort and a complete change of culture in the operating room," she says.

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