July 1998

AHA AND EPA TEAM UP FOR A HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENT

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has entered into a historic partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On June 24th, the AHA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the EPA that will provide a framework to eliminate mercury-containing waste from the waste stream, and reduce the total volume of waste generated by hospitals by one-third – both by the year 2005. The final objective is to reduce waste volume by 50 percent by 2010.

These goals are targets, not mandates, and all AHA member institutions will be encouraged to actively participate. "This public-private effort with the EPA is an important part of hospitals’ missions to advance the health of individuals and communities and demonstrates hospitals’ commitment to health improvement," said Jonathan T. Lord, M.D., AHA’s chief operating officer. "Not only will this be good for the environment but it’s good for the bottom line. While it takes some initial investment, hospitals that have already undertaken aggressive waste minimization have realized long-term savings."

AHA noted that aggressive waste recycling and reduction efforts at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University Hospital have saved the hospital more than $150,000 per year in landfill costs. Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan instituted a mercury minimization plan that eliminated 280 pounds of mercury over the past four years helping them to become 99 percent mercury-free.

Under the collaboration, which was initiated by the AHA’s personal membership groups, the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), the EPA and AHA have agreed to:
* Undertake collection of baseline data on hospitals’ pollution prevention efforts
* Monitor hospitals’ success in meeting goals of reducing waste
* Sponsor educational seminars about waste management and mercury reduction
* Participate in an Environmental Leadership Council, comprised of hospital leaders, EPA officials, environmental groups and others that will recommend to the AHA educational and outreach activities to help hospitals, health systems and health care workers reach the waste reduction goals
* Develop model plans on the Internet, targeted at reducing specific chemicals.


A copy of the MOU can be found on AHA’s web site at www.aha.org

The New Hampshire Story:: The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is currently working to finalize an aggressive mercury reduction strategy that focuses on greatly reducing the sources of New Hampshire's mercury pollution by the year 2003. Like the regional action plan, New Hamsphire's ultimate goal is to virtually eliminate man-made sources of mercury. Stay tuned!

REDUCE, REUSE, REBOOT!
Concord Hospital (CH) and Digital Equipment Corporation signed an agreement last April allowing the hospital to stop junking its obsolete computers and start recycling them. CH is one of the first companies in the region to contract with the Digital plant in Contoocook, NH, which recycles over 23 million pounds of computer parts annually. The company will pick up and recycle computers and parts that are no longer useful to the hospital or its employees. Digital is able to recycle all but .01% of the equipment it moves through its plant.

TOO MUCH TO COMPUTE?
Twelve million personal computers are thrown away in landfills every year. It’s estimated that for every three computers manufactured, two existing computers become obsolete. What can be done about all of this high tech waste? Contact the NH Governor’s Recycling Program at (603) 271-0198 or recycle@tec.nh.us for their helpful bulletin entitled Computer Reuse and Recycling. And be sure to check with your local school, library or other nonprofit organizations to see if they accept computers for reuse.

WILL THAT BE PAPER OR PLASTIC?
Patient bed pans, urinals, emesis basins and bowls made entirely of post consumer newspapers and telephone books? Vernacare System products are made totally from recycled paper treated with a natural resin to keep them strong and waterproof. They’re completely biodegradable and cost about the same as the plastic ones but without the added disposal costs. Its special disposal unit macerates the container and its contents into tiny fragments and flushes them safely into the sewer system, requiring no more water than hospitals now use to clean bedpans. This system, used throughout Europe for the past two decades, is the standard of care in seventy percent of the hospitals in the United Kingdom. To learn more about these plastic alternatives, call Vernacare at 1-800-268-2422 or visit their web site at www.vernacare.com.

NHHA R3 WEB PAGES REVAMPED
Have you checked out the Reduce~Reuse~Recycle pages on the NHHA web site lately? They’ve been revamped to make it easier to access the information your hospital will need to follow along the "green" path. NHHA’s web site address is www.nhha.org. From the home page, click on the Library button, and then the Reduce~Reuse~ Recycle RESOURCES button. You’ll find buttons for R3 programs/services, resources, calendar events, Materials Exchange and the most current issue of STAT Green. We hope you like what you see in this work-in-progress. E-mail Debbie Augustine at daugustine@nhha.org with your ideas.

NOT JUST A LOT OF HOT AIR
Medical Waste Autoclaves: Not Just a Lot of Hot Air is the title of a new technical document on medical waste autoclaves recently released by the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services. Written by Gary R. Urbanowicz, the document reviews some of the basic and newer innovative techniques of steam treatment of medical waste, the principles of steam treatment, the benefits and limitations of steam treatment systems and standard/modified waste autoclave systems. It’ a must for any health care employee handling medical waste and those making decisions about the type of autoclave best suited for their facility. To order a copy call 1-800-AHA-2626.
COMING UP "GREEN"

July 22:
Alternative Medical Infectious Waste Disposal Systems, DES Auditorium Concord, NH. This free half-day solid waste facility operator workshop will discuss alternative technologies that may offer a better solution to incinerating. For more info contact Pat Hannon, Department of Environmental Services Waste Management Division at (603) 271-2900 or nhpcas@des.state.nh.us.

August 21:
Waste Management in Healthcare: Strategies for Compliance and Cost Reduction, Seaport Hotel, Boston, MA. This one-day seminar sponsored by the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services will focus on hospital waste volume reduction, safety and compliance management, evaluating alternative treatment technologies and waste contract design. Call the ASHES office at (312) 422-3860 for details.

Oct 7:
A New Prescription: Pollution Prevention Strategies for the Healthcare Industry, Boston University Conference Center, Tyngsboro, MA. This one-day conference, just over the NH border, will provide specific information on how health care facilities can improve environmental operations and compliance by addressing potential problems at the source. Visit the Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance for Toxics Use Reduction web site at http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/ota/med-p2.htm. for program info and downloadable registration form or contact Lara Sutherland at Lara.Sutherland@state.ma.us or 617-727-3260 x696.

RECYCLING OVERNIGHT
When you rip open your next overnight delivery envelope, check before you throw it away. You may be able to use it again. United Parcel Service is using reusable envelopes for its overnight letter packages that have a second strip of adhesive and a special flap to close the package a second time.