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Park Ridge Hospital is proud to support numerous recycling efforts, supported by all hospital departments and associates. In an effort to promote a “green” facility, Park Ridge Hospital recycles items such as plastic and aluminum, composts food and safely disposes of pharmaceutical waste.In fact this year alone, a total of 2,150 pounds of plastic and aluminum and 84,000 pounds of paper and cardboard have been collected for recycling, while 490 gallons of pharmaceutical waste have been collected and disposed of in an environmentally-safe manner, keeping it out of the water system. A total of 8,000 pounds of food have also been composted, in an effort to utilize its agricultural potential. In addition to composting, the Park Ridge Café provides only biodegradable Styrofoam cups, plates and take-away containers. The hospital also recycles batteries and fluorescent light bulbs, and the Environmental Services Department uses 3M Eco-friendly cleaning products wherever possible. “We are excited to be able to aid in the recycling efforts of our community by offering our organization such a wide range of recycling options,” said Bart Boeckler, director of Environmental Services. “Every little bit that we can do to help protect the environment we live in is essential to our community and our friends and neighbors.” Due to its efforts to safely dispose of pharmaceutical waste, Park Ridge recently received its PharmE® Certification in January of this year. The PharmE® Certification, provided through PharmEcology Associaties, LLC is a voluntary certification that demonstrates a health care facility has successfully designed and implemented a pharmaceutical waste management program in compliance with applicable federal, state and local regulations, and has gone above and beyond to adopt the practices necessary to prevent virtually all drugs from disposal by drain or landfill. The importance of proper disposal for pharmaceutical waste stems from the fact that current water systems are structured to effectively filter and remove those organisms found in solid waste, but are not structured to eliminate pharmaceutical drugs from the water system. With the pharmaceutical waste management program in place at Park Ridge Hospital, virtually no pharmaceutical waste is disposed of in the sewer or landfill systems, thus preventing drugs from reaching the area’s water system. (Image provided by Park Ridge Hospital.)
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