More hospitals are recycling former throwaway items: Why the concern?

There’s a growing concern about the amount of medical waste that is generated daily. According to the New York Times article "In a World of Throwaways, Making a Dent in Medical Waste," “It’s not just that hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics and other health facilities generate several billion pounds of garbage each year: buried in that mountain of trash are untold numbers of unused disposable medical devices as well as used but recyclable supplies and equipment, from excess syringes and gauze to surgical instruments.”

Reusing medical devices

In the past, hospitals often reused a number of medical devices, but in the 1980s they "began shifting to single-use versions, often made from inexpensive plastics, partly because the emerging H.I.V. epidemic raised fears about the risks of recycling equipment.”

Even when hospitals were aware that current sterilization methods killed the virus, the movement toward disposable medical instruments continued to grow, despite the financial benefits of recycling.

Health risks

In 2008, a report by the Government Accountability Office stated that all available data showed no additional health risk from reprocessed disposables. Yet many hospitals and health care facilities aren’t ready to change their way of disposing medical waste products due to lingering fears of spreading disease.

Recycling

Environmentalists are asking hospitals to recycle equipment and supplies when possible, but some medical professionals still worry about recycling medical devices. rom reprocessed disposables. Yet many hospitals and health care facilities aren’t ready to change their way of disposing medical waste products due to lingering fears of spreading disease.

Recycling

Environmentalists are asking hospitals to recycle equipment and supplies when possible, but some medical professionals still worry about recycling medical devices. “More than half the country’s hospitals send at least some of their single-use devices to reprocessors," said Daniel J. Vukelich, president of the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, according to the Times article.

Safety

There is still resistance from some patient advocates about the safety of using recycled devices, according to the article "Hospital Recycling on the Increase." Until the Government Accountability Office report states unequivocally that reprocessed medical devices are as safe as brand-new devices, health care experts will continue to debate the use of recycling in medical institutions.