Rethinking Healthcare Waste Management: A Call to Action for Compliance and Sustainability

Rethinking Healthcare Waste Management: A Call to Action for Compliance and Sustainability 

In light of the recent $49 million settlement with Kaiser Permanente for improper waste disposal, hospitals across California are urged to reassess their waste management practices. The California Medical Waste Management Act mandates that all healthcare facilities follow strict guidelines for managing waste, yet this recent settlement is a stark reminder that compliance requires continuous evaluation and improvement. 

Just last month, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office announced that it is taking civil enforcement action against its own county after improperly disposed items were identified during its waste audits of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. Given the number of items recovered, the fines were estimated at more than one billion dollars. 

It’s clear that the District Attorney’s offices across the State of California are taking improper healthcare waste management seriously and healthcare facilities must take immediate short and long-term actions. 

Hospitals are complex waste environments that require a systematic approach to waste management. 

Numerous diverse operations can be found in even the smallest of healthcare facilities. Operating rooms, pathology labs, pharmacies, clinical research, emergency services, trauma care, and cancer centers are just a few of the unique healthcare settings with complex waste compositions. Up to 30 different waste streams can be present at a hospital, including various types of hazardous, regulated medical, and confidential wastes. It’s not just the variety of waste that presents a challenge but also the volume. Even small hospitals can generate millions of pounds of waste each year.  

Every healthcare facility needs an interdepartmental team tasked with overseeing the facility’s waste management system. Everyone plays a role in waste management. Relying on one department or a select few individuals to ensure hospital waste is managed properly is a recipe for failure. 

An effective waste system goes beyond compliance. It’s a coordinated effort that requires equipment, communications, regular audits, interdepartmental collaboration, and a consistent training regimen. Leaders from various departments must be involved to establish and maintain a system that not only prevents violations but also promotes sustainability and safety. 

A ‘set it and forget it’ approach to healthcare waste management will fail. Hospital leaders must establish a structure for regular auditing, reporting, and action planning or their facilities will be at risk. 

California has some of the strictest healthcare waste management regulations in the country. 

The CA Medical Waste Management Act explicitly requires all CA healthcare facilities to maintain a regularly updated waste management plan and outline what elements should be included in each plan. While the healthcare waste stream definitions stated in the CA Waste Management Act are consistent with those followed across the US, requiring a detailed plan is a step beyond what most other states require. 

California’s hazardous waste regulations are some of the most stringent in the country, encompassing a broader range of materials than federal guidelines. Under the California Hazardous Waste Control Act, healthcare facilities must manage hazardous waste items, including certain pharmaceuticals and alcohol-based products, with meticulous care to prevent environmental contamination and ensure worker safety. Items like hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and certain cleaning agents fall under these regulations due to their flammability or toxicity. These materials require specific disposal methods, often involving specialized containment and labeling protocols. 

Both Kaiser Permanente and Santa Clara Valley had illegally disposed of items considered either hazardous, regulated medical, or confidential information. The State fine for illegally disposing just one hazardous waste item can be up to $70,000 and up to $10,000 per item considered regulated medical waste. 

Hospitals should start with a waste audit and program assessment. 

A correctly designed healthcare waste audit will uncover the waste composition of many unique areas across a medical center. Understanding waste composition is essential to designing a waste management system but, an understanding alone is not enough. A waste program assessment evaluates the effectiveness of existing waste containers, communications, training, workflow, and hauling. Assessments require additional time and collaboration but are the only way for healthcare leaders to truly identify needs and opportunities. A well-designed assessment results in an action plan ready for an interdepartmental stakeholder group. 

Hospitals should partner with a healthcare waste management expert. 

Navigating waste regulations and managing various waste streams requires specialized knowledge. Partnering with a waste consulting firm can provide an objective assessment and help hospitals implement sustainable, compliant systems. A third-party perspective can reveal blind spots and recommend improvements that might otherwise be overlooked. 

Reduction In Motion has been helping healthcare facilities manage waste since 2002. We are a team of healthcare waste stream managers who work directly with front line staff to better separate and handle waste. We help ensure your facility is meeting its compliance, safety, and sustainability goals. We are actively working with healthcare facilities across the US, including California, and can help any healthcare facility regardless of where they’re at with their waste management program. We design a custom scope of work for each of our clients that often includes a combination of waste audits, assessments, taskforce facilitation, training, project deployment, and data reporting.  

Contact us to learn more about the current state of waste in California or how we can help your healthcare facility.