Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM) and Emory University Hospital (EUH) are reducing and diverting waste with a new recycling program in the operating rooms and other patient care areas, according to an article on the Emory website.
Emory Healthcare, which includes seven hospitals, and Emory University have a combined goal of diverting landfill waste by 65 percent by 2015 through recycling and composting programs.
"Operating rooms create a tremendous volume of waste," said Jane Duggan, MD, lead of the OR Green Team at EUHM. "Much of it is clean waste and can be recycled. Healthcare sustainability is critical, and by diverting waste from landfills, we expect to take huge strides forward in greening our campus."
To reduce this waste, the hospitals have placed bins in every operating room to collect used medical equipment that will be recycled.
A medical and hazardous waste company will collect all clean plastic containers, clean plastic wrap, and clean cardboard boxes, many of which package surgical and sterile medical equipment, for recycling.
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