Some health systems are making progress in recovering medical devices and equipment.
About 85 percent of hospital waste is noninfectious, according to the World Health Organization, and a bulk of that is recyclable, yet most of these materials are either landfilled or burned.
The waste is stockpiling because balancing patient safety, cost and sustainability is not easy, say hospitals. Further, haulers and recyclers often shy away from what’s considered medical waste. And China’s crackdown on imported plastics has created a new barrier—25 percent of hospital waste is plastic, amounting to 1 million tons a year, reports Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council.
Read more at waste360.com
Leave a Reply