96 | www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com “And all of our clinical staff participate in a mandatory waste-disposal education process,” said Heather Woolwine, MUSC director of public affairs, media relations and presidential communications. “We also post guidelines and continually reinforce the importance of proper waste disposal.” But Montgomery pointed out that while medical personnel everywhere are trying to handle the waste issue, whether or not they are properly equipped, the extra tonnage is beginning to appear in unprecedented ways. “There’s a lot we don't know about plastics and the environment,” she said. “And increasingly, we’re finding that microplastics are showing up in our waterways and our food systems. These are all concerns about health care waste.” To this end, a firm called EcoSteris, located in Summerville, has taken the initiative to handle the state’s medical waste problem with the recent construction of a $6 million state-of-the art disposal facility. It will contain an autoclave, an automation system and shredders for treating up to 19 million pounds of medical waste per year. “With such capacity, we will be able to treat the medical waste of all the state’s major hospitals, as well as all of the doctors’ offices and clinics combined,” said Youmna Squalli, president and owner of EcoSteris. “This new facility is in a centralized spot to handle medical waste generated on both a large and small scale.” The treatment procedure is simple: The medical waste that comes to EcoSteris gets treated first, then it is shredded twice. When asked the difference between existing methods and EcoSteris’ new process, Squalli said that the sterilization approach, which is followed by the majority of medical waste treatment processes, allows only for treatment “but does not change its composition.” “So you end up seeing needles and sharps in the compactors and in the landfill even after treatment,” she said. “Our facility, which is the first of its kind, will eliminate this concern.” She added that the EcoSteris method provides an “80% to 85% reduction in volume of treated medical waste after shredding.” “Our long-term goal is to reuse the treated and shredded waste to hopefully have zero waste sent to our landfill,” she said. “My husband, David, and I have a combined 20-plus years experience in this industry, and we want this new facility to eventually be the standard adopted by medical facilities across the country to help keep medical waste from becoming another burden for us all to handle.” MEDICAL WASTE By the Numbers 16 BILLION - The number of injections administered each year worldwide. Source: World Health Organization 5.9 MILLION TONS - The amount of medical waste produced each year from U.S. hospitals. Source: Sharps Compliance, Inc. 33 POUNDS - The amount of waste produced from each staffed bed every day in the United States. Source: Sharps Compliance, Inc. 144,000 TONS - The amount of additional medical waste produced from the 8 billion COVID vaccine doses. Source: World Economic Forum 8 BILLION - The number of COVID vaccine doses given across the globe through early 2022. Source: World Economic Forum 3 IN 10 - The average amount of the world’s health care facilities that lack systems to segregate medical waste. Source: World Economic Forum Before Treatment By EcoSteris After Treatment
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjcyNTM1