Contact: Brendan Hewitt, Environment and Waste Minimisation Project Metropolitan Health South Australian Health Commission Ph.(08) 226-7371 Fx:(08) 226-6235 Postal address: PO Box 65, Rundle Mall,Adelaide, S.A.5000
A 500 bed public teaching hospital in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, the Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) employs 3,000 staff.
Over the past two decades, hospitals have increasingly sought to minimise the risk of infection by changing over to disposable, single-use items, rather than sterilising and re-using, for instance, syringes, bottles or gloves. This practice has led to an explosion in the garbage problem. For each occupied bed, the average amount of waste per day generated is 4.8 kilograms, according to the South Australian Health Commission.
Based on these figures, Nursing the Environment (Vic.), a group within the Australian Nursing Federation, estimates that 607,000 kilograms of solid waste are produced by Australian hospitals per day.
The photo above was supplied by Nursing the Environment and displays some 60% of the waste generated by cardiac bypass surgery including the first 24 hours of post-operative care.
The principal goal of the the Healthy Environment Project is to identify, recommend and implement initiatives that will reduce FMC's negative impact on the environment. Most initiatives also save considerable sums of money. Broadly, issues on top of the agenda are waste minimisation, energy conservation, water conservation and purchasing policy.
Most of the Healthy Environment Project?s work has concentrated on waste minimisation with a resulting 50% reduction in general waste volumes and a 35% reduction in medical waste volumes. Already savings of $300,000 per year have been realised.
A recycling centre catering for glass, paper and plastics has been established. Recycling stations have been installed in each of the wards and most other departments.
The project has been a catalyst for the development of environmental management practices within South Australian hospitals, a movement which is now growing nationally and is supported officially by the South Australian Health Commission and other organisations such as Hospital Environmental Awareness Link (HEAL) in Western Australia; Nursing the Entironment in Victoria; and an interhospital network in South Australia.
Another vital component was the commitment of the Board of Management to the establishment of the Healthy Environment Project and the subsequent formation of the Environmental Management Committee (EMC). The brief of the EMC is to identify and implement environmental initiatives, formulate a document recommending ecologically sustainable work practices and help educate and inform staff concerning environmental issues.
Keys to the success of the project are seen as high levels of consultation, education and the provision of accessible information. Consultation must occur with the heads, staff and union reps of the departments affected by any proposed change.
The National Health and Medical Research Council has recognised the relationship between health and the environment in recommending that "all industry sectors, including the health sector, will need to minimise waste, conserve energy, and reduce future risk and irreversibility of ill health and environmental degradation."
A waste audit-was undertaken identifying all types of waste emanating from the hospital including solid, chemical, medical and liquid. A survey conducted by the South Australian Waste Management Commission at the Royal Adelaide Hospital identified that 60% of waste was paper or cardboard.
An energy audit has been completed identifying potential cost savings of up to $230,000 (15% of the total energy budget).
In staff amenities, FMC has replaced polystyrene cups with staff-brought mugs. This eliminates the use of 600,000 polystyrene cups @ $14,000 per year. FMC has also stopped the use of disposable plates/ bowls in the staff cafeteria, eliminating the use of over 400,000 disposable items @ $16,000 per year.
Payback for the other major capital cost the installation of the bed pan sanitiser system - is estimated at 10 months.
Two-thirds of the energy audit came from grant funding.
Savings generated in a hospital of FMC's size readily justify the extra cost of employing an Environmental Officer. Total savings on operating costs for the project are approximately $300,000 per year with total costs in the order of $65,000 per year ( for the employment of the Environment Officer and a Recycling Porter - see next section). The big money savers are on the bedpans ($130,000 p.a.) and the disposal of medical waste $50,000 p.a.)
Net savings are not reinvested.in the creation of further waste and energy savings, but are used to help the FMC meet continuing budget cuts. For 1995 alone, budget cuts are estimated at $7 million.
An audit carried out for the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital by the Centre fot Innovation in Waste Management at Monash University, found that - in keeping with the FMC experience - potentially 57% of the waste stream could be diverted from landfill either by recycling or composting. As depicted in the following pie chart, the composition of the waste stream at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital provides a picture of the greatest potential areas for savings for the average hospital.
An Environmental Management Committee was formed, representing most hospital work groups and the medical students, with an Environmental Officer appointed for an initial term of 18 months. The success of the project has resulted in a three year extension of this position.
A Recycling Porter is employed full-time to coordinate the collection of recyclables.
FMC provides time for staff to identify any problems which may arise from the change, so that by the time of the implementation, staff will be fully aware and accepting of the change.
For more information, contact:
ACF / ACTU Green Jobs Unit 340 Gore Street Fitzroy,3065 Ph: (03) 416 0355 Fx: (03) 416 0767 Email:acflib@peg.apc.org.