This playbook focuses on strategies to work effectively with biomedical waste management policies in order to reduce the environmental impact of both the waste itself and the processes required to manage it.
Western University & London Health Sciences Centre
Hospitals frequently overclassify biomedical waste, resulting in unnecessary environmental impacts and increased disposal costs. This resource outlines the waste audit and reclassification methodology developed and implemented by staff in autopsy suite of London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). Following this protocol, the initiative achieved a 56% reduction in annual waste disposal emissions and a 62% reduction in disposal costs, preventing 1427 kgco2e from being released into the atmosphere annually. By documenting and sharing this approach, we aim to support the operationalisation of sustainable waste management practices across other pathology departments and hospitals.
For additional information or to request the final report and detailed results, please contact maggiee.chen@mail.utoronto.ca.
This infographic and corresponding primer are intended for healthcarepolicymakers and individual changemakers looking for opportunities for change inaccordance with provincial, national and federal regulations. For any complementary information about this topic, please refer to the CASCADES Hazardous Medical Waste Management primer.
Sustainability resources created by Green Care in British Columbia to mitigate infrastructure waste.
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Healthcare Waste Management Community of Practice
In partnership with the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, we are assembling a Healthcare Waste Management Community of Practice. This network will enhance sustainability within healthcare waste management processes in Canada by exploring the links between waste, clinical delivery of care and environment sustainability Chair: Allen Bridge, Provincial Lead in Environmental Sustainability and Waste Management at Alberta Health Services
