News Article: Johns Hopkins Researchers Offer Advice on How Hospitals Can Go Green

Johns Hopkins researchers have recently developed strategies for hospitals to reduce their carbon footprint and save money while leaving patient safety uncompromised. The Johns Hopkins team reported these strategies in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery.

According to experts, health care facilities are the second major contributor of waste products in the United States, behind the food industry. Health care facilities are said to produce 6,600 tons of waste per day and over four billion pounds per year.

The team reported that these massive numbers are due primarily to several wasteful practices; the opening of sterilized equipment without ever using it, the installation of energy-draining overhead lights, and the filling of bags labeled as “medical waste” with harmless trash that could easily be disposed of more cheaply.

During surgery, two types of disposal bags are used – red bags for infectious, pathologic waste, which are much more expensive to process, and clear bags for noninfectious waste. Martin A. Makary, research leader, said that as much as 90 percent of what winds up the red bags do not meet the criteria for infectious waste. The team concluded that although truly hazardous, red-bag worthy waste makes up for only 24 percent of medical waste, it accounts for 86 percent of costs.

“If we’re going to get serious as a country about being environmentally conscious, we need to look at our biggest institutions,” Makary said. “When an individual decides to recycle or dispose of waste differently, it has an impact. But when a hospital decides as an organization to go green, the impact is massive.”

Makary and his team developed their report by reviewing 43 previously published studies on hospitals’ environmental practices. They then assembled an expert panel to create a list of practical strategies to effectively reduce identified waste while keeping patient safety the top priority.

The panel identified their top strategies as reprocessing single-use medical devices by using proper sterilization, making environmentally conscious purchasing choices, managing energy use, and managing pharmacy waste.

“We live in a much more cost-conscious medical climate now and there is a lot that hospitals can do to go green,” Makary concluded.