1996 N.H Pollution Prevention Internship Program
1996 N.H Pollution Prevention Internship Program
Internship Project Final Report
Project Title:
· Recycling Plan for Elliot Hospital
· Assessment of the Infectious Waste Management Plan
Intern: Ida Antonsen Lane Home phone: (603) 497-5678
4 Mt. Base Road Work phone: (603) 432-3440
Goffstown, NH 03045 e-mail:
Facility: Elliot Hospital
One Elliot Way
Manchester, NH 03103-3599
Contact Person:
Dave St.Laurent
Operations Foreman
Elliot Hospital
Facilities Management
One Elliot Way
Manchester, NH 03103-3599
Phone: (603) 628-2295
Executive Summary
Elliot Hospital is a 250-bed hospital with about 2500 employees. It is located in Manchester, New Hampshire. I worked as a Pollution Prevention Intern for the Facilities Management Department.
The Facilities Management Department is in charge of most of the hospital’s waste management. Waste management includes the management of infectious waste, regular solid waste, hazardous waste, and recyclable waste. As part of the management of infectious waste, the hospital has an “Infectious Waste Management Plan”. I was asked to do an assessment of this plan. This written assessment is completed, and includes information on how the plan is currently being implemented and ideas on how it could work better.
The hospital does not currently have a plan for the management of recyclable materials. I was therefore asked to write a Recycling Program. A plan was written for the overall management of the Recycling Program. A program was also written on how to manage the individual recyclable items.
The implementation of the Recycling Program started before I finished working at the hospital, and so far the program seems successful.
Introduction and Background
Elliot Hospital is located in Manchester, New Hampshire, and it was founded in 1890. It is today part of Optima Health, which is New Hampshire’s largest health care system. Optima Health was formed in February of 1994 when Elliot Hospital, Catholic Medical Center, and other health care institutions in the area merged. Optima Health is Manchester’s largest private-sector employer with nearly 4000 employees.
In the last few years there has been a growing international, national, and local concern about the plight to our environment. Reducing, reusing, and recycling present opportunities for health facilities such as Optima Health to raise and to influence environmental consciousness among their staff and within their communities. However, because of the tremendous changes going on within Optima Health these days, the management has so far not been able to put as much emphasis on these environmental issues as they want to. The New Hampshire Pollution Prevention Internship Program was therefore an opportunity for them to improve in these areas.
Goals and Objectives
My objective as a pollution prevention intern at the Elliot Hospital was to develop a written recycling plan. This plan would outline who is in charge of the recycling program, who will manage and implement it, how it should be managed, and how the individual items (such as paper, cans, etc.) should be handled. All the parts of the plan have to follow federal and state regulations.
My second objective as an intern was to do an assessment of the Infectious Waste Management Plan. This plan was written about one year ago, and management wanted to know how the different parts of it were being implemented.
Approach/ Methodology
Before the recycling program could be written, I had to identify items that the hospital would be able to reduce, reuse, or recycle. Therefore, I needed to be familiar with the whole waste stream. I spent a lot of time with the Waste Manager, who showed me were the different wastes originated and how it was managed. This gave me an idea of what recyclable materials we had.
The hospital previously had a small recycling program. However, it slowly fell apart because there was no official plan as to who was in charge of the program. I started to work on the new program by talking with the people that had been involved with the old program. We discussed what had been recycled, what parts of the program worked or did not work, and any other ideas that they might have. Some of these people said they were willing to be part of a recycling team I was planning to start.
After this initial research I started contacting several recycling companies and vendors to find out what could be recycled without too much of a financial loss. The prices were very different from vendor to vendor, so price versus service had to be carefully examined.
Some of the recyclable materials I dealt with were hazardous waste. I therefore had to study the hazardous waste regulations so these items would be handled, stored, and discarded accordingly.
As mentioned above, the second part of my job was to assess the Infectious Waste Management Plan. The first step in this assessment was to understand the plan. Following that, I spent a day working with the Waste Manager. He showed me how infectious waste was handled, stored, picked up, transported, and finally incinerated. I continued the assessment by observing how the infectious waste was actually managed by the different departments and during different shifts. I was also able to discuss problems or concerns that some of the departments had regarding the management of infectious waste.
Project Results
Recycling Program
Part 1.
The Recycling Program consists of three parts. The first part describes how and by who the program should be managed. It suggest that a recycling group is assembled, and that a recycling coordinator is chosen. Their responsibilities are also addressed.
Part 2.
The second part of the Recycling Program describes in detail the management of the individual items that are being recycled. This part is again divided into three parts. The reason for this is that some employees are more involved in the management of the recyclable items than others, and therefore need more information.
The first part is a chart that was written for the general employees and visitors at the hospital. These people basically need to know what items are being recycled and where to put the items, and that is all described in the chart. This chart could be made into posters that could be put up in the recycling areas. A similar chart was made for the employees in Facilities Management. These employees do most of the maintenance work, and need to know how to handle more items than the general employees. Examples of these items could be fluorescent lamps, light bulbs, and paint thinner.
Finally, a binder was prepared for the employees directly in charge of the Recycling Program. This binder lists, in alphabetical order, all the items being recycled at the hospital. Each item has a “log-page” where the current management of the item is discussed. If anything changes with the item, this information is written down. Following the log-page all other information regarding the item is entered. This could be information such as price-lists, bids from different vendors, particular regulations regarding this item, receipts from vendors and recycling companies, and “fact sheets”.
Part 3.
The last part of the Recycling Program is a recycling folder. This folder is a collection of issues regarding recycling. These issues could be new technologies in recycling, controversial items to be recycled in a hospital, interesting recycling articles, and other problems or issues discussed or to be discussed by the recycling group.
Infectious Waste Management Plan
An assessment of this plan was written. For each part of the plan I discuss whether the plan is implemented or not, why it is not implemented, how it could be better implemented, and any other ideas on how the plan can work better.
Pollution Prevention Benefits
One of the greatest benefit I accomplished at the Elliot Hospital this summer was to create an awareness and positive attitude towards pollution prevention among the employees. There are numerous ways of reducing, reusing, and recycle at a hospital, but people do not know the possibilities.
One of the recycling program’s goal is to decrease the amount of metals (such as aluminum, tin, and mercury) going into the hospital’s incinerator. If this is accomplished, the air emissions will be better. Another benefit of having less metal going into the incinerator is that the ashes will be considered non-hazardous.
An important pollution prevention benefit at the hospital is the reduction in
mercury thermometer use. Currently, the hospital has mercury spills about twice
every week. This number should decrease as soon as the new thermometers have been put in place.
At this time most of the items managed in this Recycling Program are recycled - not reduced or reused. However, the Program discusses the importance of these other alternatives, so they can develop and grow with the program.
Recommendations for future efforts
Elliot Hospital is growing rapidly today, and will continue to grow in the future. However, expansion of waste management has so far been given low priority. This could result in a waste management not able to handle the total waste. My recommendation to the hospital is therefore to give waste management (including recycling) a higher priority.
Appendices
· Introduction part of the Recycling Program for Elliot Hospital.
· “How to handle recyclable materials” A chart made for the general hospital employees.
· “How to handle recyclable materials” A chart made for employees in the Facilities Management Department.
· Assessment of Infectious Waste Management Plan.