"These systems, while requiring an upfront capital investment, often
pay for themselves within the first few years of use," says Ms.
Wasserman.
What constitutes red bag waste?
Does everyone on your staff always know the difference? They
should, but the fact is that tons of unregulated medical waste ends up
in red bags every day — including device packaging, urine cups, test
strips and gauze.
You should only be red-bagging waste that contains enough blood or
other potentially infectious materials to spread bloodborne
pathogens. So, if the gauze is blood-soaked, yes, it should be red-
bagged. But if it isn't, it shouldn't be. The same goes for gloves, sharps
or any other contaminated item.
Whether you're paying by the pound or by the container, red bag
waste is expensive.
"So you need to make sure that the things you're putting in red bags
belong in red bags," says Jimmy Henderson, materials manager at the
Outpatient Surgery Center of Jonesboro (Ark.). "We've had to stop
people from throwing everything in red bags. They were throwing
away empty fluid bags, disposable wrappers and a lot of other items
that should go into the regular trash."
The solution: "We put up signs in each room," says Mr. Henderson.
"There's a list of red bag items, and a list of what goes in the trash."
Dan Good, the materials coordinator at Copper Ridge Surgery
Center in Traverse City, Mich., says he got tired of hearing complaints
from his facility's waste management company. So he asked the com-
pany for a poster, which he modified slightly and hung up in both the
"dirty room," where all waste is stored until it's picked up, and the
"clean room," where the empty bins are kept.
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