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G R E E N
P R A C T I C E S
Red Bag vs. Clear Bag
Most garbage generated in the OR doesn't require a red
bag, yet many facilities mix clear bag waste in with their
regulated medical waste, which costs more to dispose of.
Red Bag Trash
Clear Bag Waste
25¢ per pound to dispose 4¢ a pound to dispose
accounts for 20%
accounts for 4%
of trash produced
of trash produced
accounts for 34%
accounts for 52%
of disposal costs
of disposal costs
SOURCE: Johns Hopkins University Hospital QI Project, November 2011
remind your staff. They're not thinking about walking a few feet further to put waste in the correct bag. A simple rule to follow: If you
can sling it, fling it or wring it, it goes in the red bag. "We provide specific training to all staff about what items go in the red bags," says
Debbie Ralph, RN, assistant head nurse at Salinas Valley Memorial
Hospital in Salinas, Calif. "We review this periodically and the charge
nurse is very good about reinforcing this."
The OR at the Plastic Surgical Center of Rapid City (S.D.) has 2
open receptacles for waste disposal, one with a heavy-duty garbage
bag and one with a red garbage bag for contaminated waste. But guess
what? Staff were routinely discarding uncontaminated garbage (Bovie
grounding pad outer wraps, for example) in the red garbage container.
D E C E M B E R 2012 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
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