The Product Stewardship Solution

The MIRT works with the staff at local medical institutions by helping them to make changes in their purchasing decisions that will reduce the volume and toxicity of waste generated.  Medical staff and manufacturers take part in seminars and communicate  via an e-mail listserve.  The manufacturers hear the concerns and issues shared by the hospitals and used this information when developing new products and processes.  

The following are examples of how MIRT has worked to further product stewardship in the medical industry:

• Design for Durability and Reuse   Manufacturers have developed and marketed a wide range of very durable medical products that are labeled by the manufacturers as "single use" devices even though they are reusable with proper reprocessing and sterilization techniques.  MIRT has helped medical professionals to locate reprocessors that are licensed and regulated by the FDA that can collect the items, sanitize them and repackage them for reuse.   Hospitals and medical facilities are also increasing their use durable linens and laundry services rather than using disposable gowns and linens.

• Reduce Toxicity  MIRT has organized seminars aimed at providing hospitals with the tools they need to reduce toxics in a number of areas within their institutions. These include switching to devices that do not contain mercury, finding alternatives to toxic lab stains and fixatives and using full cost accounting to reflect the true costs of using toxic materials  in the hospitals.  Another option is to include "take-back" provisions in contracts.  These provisions would require manufacturers to take back their product leftovers once the product has been used by the institution.  By responding to what hospitals include in their supplier contracts, the manufacturer is encouraged  to develop and provide products that result in less waste and materials that are more recyclable and reusable.

• Manufacturer Take Back: MIRT is working with the manufacturer of a blue polypropylene material, used by medical institutions to wrap sterile devices, to recycle the material.  The manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark, has agreed to contribute 3 cents per pound of blue wrap purchased by participating hospitals to the program.  They have also offered to provide all of the in-facility training. A recycler, Marathon Recovery, has agreed to pay 4 cents per pound of delivered material if it has been secondarily sorted.  Once an organization is located to performing the secondary sorting,  the program will be up and running.

The Acknowledgements

The NWPSC efforts in medical product stewardship have been led by the Medical Industry Waste Prevention Round Table (MIRT)  which is supported through the efforts of the King County Department of Natural Resources, the Business and Industry Resource Venture, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (WSHES), and the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC). This project is currently funded by the U.S. EPA and the King County Department of Natural Resources.