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Photos showing Casella’s zero sort recycling process. The material flows through several different processes to be sorted by commodity. Visit www.casella.com to view the zero sort recycling online video.

X-ray Defibrillator pads Medical files Antimicrobial Dressings Main Line Catheters

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Single-Stream Makes Hospital Recycling Possible Continued from page 3

percent recycled,” she says. “When you see it all mixed together, it really does look like trash. But we make it very simple to recycle by mixing it that way, and we tell people that we get more recycled materials as a result.”

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aleotti says that while many companies in other areas of the country see rebates for recycling more, that’s not available in her area of Pennsylvania. But the hospital is saving money on trash pickup. “There’s a cost difference,” she says. We’ve reduced our amount of regular waste. That regular waste goes into a compactor, and we pay $130 per ton for disposal plus a tipping fee. Recycling it is cheaper. So our costs are down.” Carpenter says that’s something she explains to every business that’s considering zero-sort recycling. “Recycling saves the company money and lets them do the right thing,” she says. “Initially, it’s hard to gauge how much a company will save. But if the zerosort recycling program goes well and everybody participates and sorts out their garbage, we do predict that they’ll save money, even though initially they may spend X amount of dollars per month to get the program rolling. You

divert a lot from the waste stream, and that does add up to a savings.” Thanks to zero-sort, Carpenter says she’s seeing more campus-based businesses willing to give recycling a try. “We have several hospitals on board,” she says. “We also have several colleges, schools and school districts recycling with us.” Galeotti says she’s in constant communication with hospital employees, reminding them through emails and flyers what they can and can’t recycle in the bins around the campus. “We also tell them how many trees we’ve saved and how much water we’ve saved so far,” she says. “And Cassella gives us any information we request. A lot of clinical doctors’ main concern is patient care, not recycling. It has to be extremely simple to work, and this program is.” Carpenter says that’s key for any large office situation. “We’ll come in and do a presentation or come in and set up a stand for people to ask questions,” she says. “Communication is big with this. If someone understands they can recycle everything, 10 to one, they’re going to do it. If they’re confused, they’re simply not going to do it.” Medical Waste Management APR-JUN 2010