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- What’s a typical hospital waste stream?
- Why waste reduction makes sense
- What you can do
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What’s a typical hospital waste stream?
Hospital waste can be categorized into the following categories:
- hazardous waste – including biomedical (e.g. sharps)
- liquid industrial waste
- non-hazardous solid waste (e.g. packaging and food)
These waste streams are regulated by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
In an average hospital, approximately 10 to 15 per cent of waste is considered biomedical waste. The remaining 85 to 90 per cent is considered to be solid non-hazardous waste, similar to a combination of waste from hotels, restaurants and other institutions providing lodging, food services, administration and facility operations.
Read an overview of hospital waste.
Why waste reduction makes sense
Reducing waste:
- improves operational efficiency
- diverts waste from landfill and cuts back on greenhouse gas emissions
- offers an immediate and measurable way to improve the environmental performance of your hospital and your bottom line
- helps you comply with Ontario’s 3Rs Regulations and the Environmental Protection Act
- helps us get closer to Ontario’s goal of zero waste
- promotes healthy bodies for employees and patients by helping to reduce pollution and protect the environment
What you can do
- Develop a waste-reduction program* or improve your existing program
- Form a Green Team
- Train and educate staff, visitors and patients
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*Waste-reduction programs involve reducing, reusing and recycling. Each plays an important role in diverting waste.
