Peerless Waste Solutions

Case Studies

800-bed Midwest Teaching Hospital

The overview:

A large medical and teaching facility was in need of safer, more cost-effective disposal of their biohazardous medical waste. They’d been using a third-party processor, but became frustrated with the infrequent pickups and direct exposure of their staff to the waste.

Orderlies assigned to medical-waste pickup made rounds 24/7 collecting waste, and transporting it to the facility’s basement. Efforts to safeguard patients and staff from the waste were made, but some contact and exposure to the waste was unavoidable. The orderlies accepted direct exposure to the waste as part of the job.

Infectious material could easily be seen on the floor of the storage room. Stains from leaking containers were commonplace. Unpleasant odors were evident, and could also be detected in other areas of the hospital due to the HVAC system running throughout the hospital. Requests for more frequent pickups from the third party would require additional fees.

The problem:

• Escalating regulated-medical-waste disposal costs
• Internal handling and storage of waste detrimental to patients, staff, and hospital ecosystem
• Lack of real estate and space available for use in waste collection and disposal, especially in central or high-demand areas

The solution:

We developed two recommendations for the facility, both of which would allow for faster, safer destruction of medical waste, near the site of waste creation.

Recommendation 1

• PWS designed a custom M-2 unit (325 pounds per hour) to be placed in an easily accessible location with the least contact with staff and patients.

Recommendation 2

• PWS located four ideal areas to place M-1 units in the birthing center, two operatories, and the emergency room.
• PWS designed a custom M-2 unit (250 pounds per hour) to be placed in the same location as in the first recommendation.

The results:

Both solutions would require the same up-front cost, and thus, the financial projections are also identical. During the first five years of service, the medical center would already be seeing a savings in cost – and that’s including the initial price of equipment. Due to the durability of PWS equipment, the facility is projected to save $98,000 per year in years six and beyond while self-processing their hazardous waste.

The hospital opted to go with both recommendations, allowing a larger processing capacity with the M-2 units, and the convenience of well-placed M-1 units, while projecting further savings for their bottom line.