How can my organization act to reduce red bag waste?
I am so glad you asked!
• Establish a “Green Team.”: Neither one person nor one department should be responsible for initiating these changes. It is recommended that an interdepartmental team be instated in order to ensure that the organization(s) can be successful system-wide.
• Education is a top priority: All staff must be educated in proper waste separation and waste disposal practices. It is every employee’s responsibility to follow proper waste disposal practices to both ensure patient safety and do their part in easing their organization’s financial burden. Signage should be posted to help employees, patients, and guests understand proper waste disposal.
• Waste segregation: It is the responsibility of the organization that waste bins are properly labeled and segregated. As we cannot ensure every visitor is properly educated, we should not make regulated waste bins large and too publicly available. Other sources have suggested color-coding waste containers with proper signage as well, which can be easily understood by anyone passing by.
• Recycling: Every organization should be doing their part to reuse and recycle as well. During a global pandemic, it is understandable that recycling is not as easily done in the healthcare setting. However, recycling should still be a top priority in public areas and with recyclable non-infectious materials.
• Purchasing: Responsible purchasing is an important part of sustainability practices in waste reduction. When items are over purchased, they tend to be more widely and inefficiently disposed of. This is fiscally and environmentally irresponsible and should be addressed as a part of this initiative.
• Waste audits: Each organization should be regularly auditing its waste management areas and practices. In areas where audits results are poor, re-education should occur, extra signage should be considered, as well as the necessity and location of any containers that are available for public and staff use. It is so important to hold areas accountable for their waste management.
More to come on this initiative!