Assessments
Why Conduct a Waste Assessment?
Whether your facility is getting ready to implement a waste reduction program or is maintaining a program that has been established for several years, a waste assessment is a valuable tool for understanding your facility’s waste management practices. A waste assessment provides a snapshot of what and how much is being discarded as well as the manner in which it is being disposed. This information should provide the basis for planning a waste reduction program, improving waste management practices in your facility, and managing waste disposal contractors. A waste assessment should include all waste streams generated in your facility, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Chemotherapy waste
- Hazardous waste
- Pathology and Anatomical waste
- Pharmaceutical waste
- Recycled commodities
- Regulated medical waste (RMW)
- Reused items
- Solid waste
- Universal waste
An effective waste assessment should reveal where in your facility these wastes are generated and how they are being disposed of at the point of generation as well as what materials are being recycled. The types of waste generated will vary by department, so it is important to include all departments in your facility’s waste assessment.
What to Consider During a Waste Assessment
A thorough waste assessment typically includes two components:
1. a facility walk-through for a visual inspection of waste disposal locations
2. a records review of waste hauler invoices and disposal documentation
This approach will provide an understanding of what is being generated at the point of disposal, which will vary significantly by department, and how it is leaving the facility for disposal or recycling. Ultimately, this information can help document waste generation, waste disposal, and recycling practices and their associated costs. Conducting a waste assessment requires the cooperation of both hospital staff and waste haulers, as follows:
Involving Hospital Staff
Hospital staff may participate in the facility walk-through, either by conducting a visual inspection of waste disposal locations in their department during the walk-through or by providing information to those conducting the walk-through. The purpose of the facility walk-through is to identify the following:
- The types of waste being disposed
- The sources of this waste
- The location of all regularly placed waste containers and the size of these containers
- Whether the correct types of waste are being placed in the correct containers
- What materials, if any, are being recycled or reused
- Whether waste collection from each area is scheduled or on demand
- Whether signage is present in waste disposal areas
Coordinating with Your Facility’s Waste Hauler
Waste haulers can help your facility conduct a records review by providing paper or electronic documentation of waste disposal and recycling records, such as tipping slips, manifests, invoices and receipts, and other records or forms. They may also provide valuable insight by sharing observations about waste collection and disposal practices. For example, your facility’s waste hauler should be able to provide a reliable estimate of how full your facility’s dumpsters are when they are picked up, allowing your facility to determine whether the frequency at which the dumpsters are serviced is appropriate. During the records review, waste haulers can provide information on the following:
- The haul frequency
- The weight of waste being disposed
- The volume of material being recycled
- The cost of waste hauling and recycling, including container rental fees, transportation fees, landfill tipping fees, and other monthly fees associated with waste hauling or management
Further discussion of how to use the information gathered during a waste assessment is provided on the Data Collection [link] page.
Benefits of a Waste Assessment
Whether this is your facility’s first formal waste assessment or your facility is doing a spot check of waste disposal practices, conducting a waste assessment can provide several benefits:
Establish Baseline Disposal Practices
If your facility is planning to implement or expand a waste reduction program, a waste assessment will establish the baseline conditions at your facility and can help identify opportunities for waste minimization or recycling. The results of the assessment should provide a starting point for setting goals for improvement.
Evaluate Segregation Practices
A waste assessment can allow hospital personnel to ensure that waste is being disposed of in the proper containers and to proactively identify improper waste segregation, which is particularly important for RMW, pharmaceutical waste, and hazardous waste. Conducting periodic visual inspections of waste containers encourages staff to be accountable for their actions and conveys the important message of “Know Where to Throw.”
Monitor Waste Reduction and Recycling Programs
A waste assessment can help monitor the effectiveness of waste reduction and recycling programs. Conducting periodic visual inspections of waste containers will reveal whether recyclable commodities are being properly segregated and will allow your facility to better target outreach, communication, and training programs.
When Should I Conduct a Waste Assessment?
A waste assessment should be conducted when your facility first implements a waste reduction program but can be valuable when your facility is expanding a waste reduction or recycling program, as well. A waste assessment can show hospital personnel what commodities can be captured for recycling; in this case, a simple visual assessment by volume is all that is necessary, not specific weights. A waste assessment should also be conducted before renegotiating a waste contract so that hospital personnel know how much waste the facility is generating, how much the facility is currently paying, how containers are utilized, etc. Finally, a waste assessment can be conducted as an internal audit to ensure regulatory compliance for waste disposal.
What to Consider Throughout Your Facility
As mentioned previously, a waste assessment — particularly what is observed during a visual inspection — will vary significantly by department. Therefore, it is important to include all departments in an assessment to get a complete understanding of your facility’s waste. Tips for what to consider when visiting a variety of hospital departments are as follows:
Observing RMW Generation
It should be expected that some areas of a hospital generate a greater volume of RMW than others. For example, surgery areas, emergency rooms, and cardiac catheterization labs frequently generate a higher volume of RMW than do endoscopy and gastroenterology areas. However, RMW container placement should be evaluated in each department to ensure that containers are adequately sized (not too small or too large) and properly placed to ensure proper waste segregation.
Identifying Recyclable Items
Though a variety of items are commonly used throughout a hospital, a waste assessment should include identification of department-specific wastes that can be recycled. For
example, blue wrap (polypropylene) is often generated in large quantities in surgery areas and operating rooms, providing an opportunity to easily segregate this material at
the point of generation. Polypropylene is recyclable in some markets; therefore, this may represent an opportunity for waste reduction in your facility. Wastes in other
departments should be evaluated with a similar objective: what materials that can be recycled or reused are generated here in large quantities?
Managing Hazardous and Universal Wastes
When conducting a facility walk-through, personnel should also look for waste streams that require special handling, such as hazardous or universal wastes, and ensure that
procedures are in place to properly manage the disposal of these materials. This may require your facility to evaluate not only what is being put into solid waste and RMW
containers, but also what may be going down the drain. This aspect of a waste assessment enables your facility to proactively identify compliance issues and to implement the
appropriate corrective measures. This may also allow your facility to consider whether non-hazardous or less hazardous products can be substituted through green purchasing.
Has your facility recently completed a waste assessment? Help us share your successes with other hospital peers. “Contact Practice Greenhealth”: http://cms.h2e-online.org/contact/ and we’ll help you write up a mini case study that you can share with your facility, community and local press.
Key Resources:
Practice Greenhealth Waste Reduction Guide – Section IV – Waste Assessment
Practice Greenhealth. 1999.
Provides an explanation of conducting waste assessments, including a comparison of waste assessment methods, advice for setting goals and objectives, and options for waste reduction and recycling.
Practice Greenhealth Waste Reduction Guide – Appendix C – Waste Assessment Plan
Practice Greenhealth. 1999.
Outlines a “plan, do, check, act” approach to conducting a waste assessment.
Practice Greenhealth Waste Reduction Guide – Appendix D – Waste Assessment Form
Practice Greenhealth. 1999.
Provides useful forms and checklists for conducting a waste assessment.
Guides to Pollution Prevention: Selected Hospital Waste Streams
Environmental Protection Agency. June 1990.
Provides a step-by-step approach to conducting a Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment in Section 1 of this comprehensive document.
An Ounce of Prevention: Waste Reduction Strategies for Health Care Facilities (Chapter 4, Conducting a Waste Assessment)
American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES). 1993.
Outlines several methodologies for assessing waste generation in healthcare facilities, including characterizing waste streams, identifying recyclables, and documenting waste practices and costs, in Chapter 4 of this comprehensive document.
Note: This document is 13 MB and may take several minutes to download.
Waste Assessment
Maine Hospitals for the Healthy Environment. 2003.
Includes questionnaires and tools useful when conducting a waste assessment.
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