Reducing and Diverting Waste
Here at Rochester Regional Health, our mission is to minimize waste by cutting down our resource usage, enhancing our recycling programs, and turning waste into useful assets.
Hospitals inevitably generate a substantial volume of waste. With industry averages standing at 30 lbs per patient per day, it's clear the challenge is significant. The complex structure of healthcare results in tracking waste across 15 different streams, including everyday municipal waste, hazardous waste, recyclable items, construction and demolition waste, surgical sharps, and even nuclear waste, among others. To put this into perspective, our five primary care hospitals produce almost 18 tons of waste every single day!
Here at Rochester Regional, we are in the process of crafting an efficient system to monitor all our waste streams simultaneously. By doing so, we can identify the areas requiring the most improvement. The issue of waste generation in the healthcare sector is substantial, but we are committed to setting our sights on breakthrough solutions.
We're working diligently to reduce waste production, increase recycling, and convert organic materials into renewable resources.
Our Initiatives
For many years, healthcare institutions have collected sharps in thick-walled containers for safe disposal. This method, however, contributes to an increased pile-up of plastics in our landfills.
Rochester Regional has worked with our hazardous waste disposal partners to rectify this issue. We've instituted a sharps container recycling program that sterilizes sharps and containers separately. By reusing the containers, we've significantly reduced the volume of plastic ending up in landfills.
Preserving the security of healthcare data stored on electronic devices is our priority at Rochester Regional. We ensure the safe removal of sensitive data when replacing outdated or unfixable electronic devices.
For equipment likely containing sensitive data, we shred and recycle the data storage components. But rather than disposing of the rest of the equipment, we partner with organizations that refurbish these components into new devices. This initiative promotes resource efficiency and conservation of raw materials.
Rochester Regional Health proudly hosts InterVol, an altruistic non-profit organization, at our headquarters. They collect unused medical supplies from local practices and send them to communities in need. During 2015, InterVol recovered 29,581 pounds of supplies from local hospitals. A good chunk of these, 20,587 pounds, were sent overseas to aid developing nations. Along with providing supplies, InterVol coordinates global medical missions, and many of our employees participate as volunteers. Learn more about InterVol and discover volunteer opportunities.
Recent waste audits at Rochester General, Unity, and Riedman reveal a significant opportunity. We can divert approximately 705,925 lbs of food waste from landfills annually. This diversion could be up to 15% of the waste generated at our hospitals.
Diverting this material can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane. This potent gas is released during the breakdown of organic materials in landfills. As a result, Rochester Regional is diverting organic waste from the Riedman Campus to a local anaerobic digester.
There, the organic materials break down, producing methane which can be converted to electricity. This process turns our food waste into a renewable resource! Additionally, the digestion process creates a nutrient-rich slurry that can replace synthetic fertilizers in agriculture.