About half of U.S. hospitals are recycling at least some of the medical supplies the would otherwise dispose of, as the health care industry is beginning to tackle the problem of medical waste, according to a report in the New York Times.

One hospital owner, the Hospital Corporation of America, recycled 94 tons last year. HCA owns 163 hospitals throughout the country. Reprocessing and remanufacturing programs from Ascent Healthcare Solutions has saved its hospital partners more than $82 million in supply chain costs during the first half of 2009.

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/07/07/half-of-hospitals-recycling-at-least-some-medical-waste/

That’s great news, and a good start in what should be a continuing trend.

In many of our hospitals, the limited scale makes recycling less attractive. Wards are old and cramped, and do not afford the luxury of space to accommodate additional source segregation and the separate collection of recyclables.

Sadly, the econimic drivers have been lost during recesson, though there were some attractive commercial developments intended to retrieve and recycle used single use surgical instruments, and to recover mixed plastics from ATT treatment residues.  All would be well if the regulatory 4 constraints, that put ideology above environment, were managed to support and encourage materials recycling instead of placing barriers in front of those bold enough to develop and refine the technologies.