Sustainability:
Improving Syringe Waste SOPs for a Greener, more Sustainable Healthcare Industry
A 93% Reduction in Plastic Sharps Containers Carbon Footprint Impact.
Improving Syringe Waste Procedures to Lower Carbon Emissions Significantly
Utilizing the Sharps Terminator® safety device would significantly reduce the number of Sharps bins used in each location each year. On average a 93% reduction in plastic bio-waste sharps bins. The reduced sharps containers and associated pickup disposal cost would significantly impact achieving your goal of reducing the carbon footprint.
Currently, if your sharps container is retrieved once a week or 52 times a year, this could be reduced to an estimated four times a year. At an approximate cost of $15 per container, your annual savings would be $780.00. If the average retrieval trip is 25 miles per trip, this will reduce an estimated 1200 miles for pickups. Using fewer plastic sharps containers would also reduce the manufacturing, shipping, storage, and handling of these units, reducing the plastic footprint on our environment.
On a life-cycle basis, diesel fuel has a very high carbon footprint. One gallon of diesel fuel emits 22.44 pounds (10,180 grams) of CO2 when combusted, and driving one mile on average emits 404 grams of CO2. Diesel combustion is especially detrimental to the environment because, for every pound of diesel burned, over three times that amount is released as CO2. One gallon of diesel fuel weighs approximately 7 pounds. Utilizing the Sharps Terminator could potentially reduce almost a half million of reduced CO2 grams of pollutants.
Utilizing the Sharps Terminator to reduce the number of plastic bins, trips, and associated costs of managing sharps containers is an efficient, safer, direct investment in operations than implementing other carbon-reducing initiatives that could negatively impact the pharmacy’s operations.
The reduced number of medical waste incinerators went from 111 in 2004 to 54 in 2010. These locations are not easily accessible to companies with recycling needs or carbon footprint reduction goals. The cost of getting to these locations has significantly increased over the years. The goal for most operations is to increase the amount of recycling of materials from medical facilities to assist in reducing carbon footprint. Implementing methods such as steam sterilization and maceration machines for pharmacy and medical facilities increases the amount of recycling of red bag items that become part of a valid recycling program. The Sharps Terminator can assist with separating the recyclable syringe from the needle to increase the recycling of useful polymers going into the recycling program.
I. Reduce the consumption of sharps containers in healthcare facilities.
The Sharps Terminator® device will process a needle, removing the sharps portion and converting it to a non-sharp. This will allow the technician to place the remaining plastic syringe piece into a red bag rather than a sharps bin.
This simple change in procedure will reduce the consumption of sharps containers by 93%-97%.
Implementing the Sharps Terminator means fewer sharps containers will be needed in your operation. When manufacturing plastic sharps containers, there is between 1.7 and 3.5 kg of carbon dioxide released for every kg of plastic produced. An average 5-quart sharp container weighs about .45 kg. Thus for every 48 containers not used, there is an average reduction of 56.16 kg of carbon dioxide released.
Most organizations participate in the disposal of plastic sharps containers by going to burning and landfills. Each of these methods only contributes to an increased carbon footprint.
II. Reduction in sharps bin waste by utilizing generic syringes.
When utilizing any specialty syringed for administration, the entire safety needle is placed into the sharps container becoming a significant contributor to the carbon footprint. These safety syringe devices account for 35% of all needled sticks in healthcare facilities. These safety syringes weigh considerably more than standard syringes. (15 safety syringes weighing 72 grams 2.54 ozs.) The entire unit must be discarded into the sharps container when utilizing safety syringes. Using regular needles and syringes, the Sharps units 15 hubs weigh less than one gram (.035 oz). The volume for 15 safety syringes is over 30 times more volume than the 15 Sharps Terminator® hubs.