Medical
Industry
Waste Prevention Round Table
Seminar
#1
Managing Medical
Plastics:
A Whole-Systems
Strategy Session
January
27, 1999
Harborview
Medical Center's Research and Training Building
MINUTES
Welcome:
Kinley Deller - King County Solid Waste Division
Introduction:
David Stitzhal - Full Circle Environmental
• Brief history of the Medical Industry Waste Prevention Round Table
• Memorandum of Understanding between the EPA and AHA http://www.h2e-online.org/about/mou.htm
• Desired outcomes
of this seminar and resources available to participants
~ "The
goals of this seminar are to identify plastics management challenges at
medical facilities and to address these challenges with resources available
through the King County Solid Waste Division and the Business and Industry
Recycling Venture. " ~
Personal Introductions
Medical Plastics: Summary of the issues (David Stitzhal)
• Different resin types and levels of recyclability
• Single use versus re-use
• Environmental Services separate from Purchasing (including different budgets)
• Trends from reusables to disposables and back again
• Regulatory issues (FDA approval, etc.)
Whole System Solutions: (Viccy Salazar - EPA Region 10)
What this means and how it relates to medical plastics
Medical Product Stewardship (.pdf)
- Discussion of the pro's and con's of plastics
Case Studies
- Other case studies:
- Oregon Health Care http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/cwrc/cstudy/healthcare.html (external)
Break With Refreshments
Brainstorm Session:
Identifying your plastic challenges
Discussion: What whole systems solutions can this group develop?
Brainstorm and Discussion notes
Items King County Solid Waste Division and the Business and Industry Recycling Venture will be following up on:
- Blue wrap recycling
- Pipette tip box take-back/ recycling
- Determine recyclability of #1 and #2 plastic media containers
- Expanded polystyrene (styrofoam) recycling
- Pill bottle recycling