First-of-its-Kind Collaboration Aims to Reduce Emissions from Regulated Medical Waste 

Providing high-quality healthcare comes with environmental challenges. The U.S. health system’s reliance on single-use materials significantly contributes to the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, which comprise approximately 8.5% of the nation’s overall emissions. As public health becomes increasingly impacted by climate change, Boston Medical Center Health System is leading sustainability efforts to reduce hospital carbon emissions. 

Boston Medical Center (BMC) is collaborating with leading biopharmaceutical company Takeda to devise creative solutions to reduce regulated medical waste in healthcare. 

No time to waste

The demand for single-use plastics is on the rise. According to the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, the U.S. health system produces about 3,500 tons of plastic waste daily. Most of this nonrecyclable regulated medical waste — items such as syringes, intravenous bags and tubing, and other infectious materials — is shipped and incinerated. When handled properly, waste can become energy. But the process is expensive, energy intensive, generates low level toxic pollutants, and relies on enforcement of environmental laws.  Anna Goldman, MD, MPA, MPH, BMC’s medical director for climate and sustainability and a primary care physician at the hospital, sees a staggering amount of single use materials in her own practice. Dr. Goldman recognizes the steep challenges in working to redesign the medical waste system and emphasizes that new solutions are critical to preserve the environment. “Plastics have a severe impact on human health and the global environment that needs to be addressed,” she says. “There are emissions associated with single-use plastic at many stages of its lifecycle — when it’s produced, transported, and disposed of. This is an area that is difficult to abate because of safety concerns and our heavy reliance on these materials to deliver care. It will require innovative solutions.” 

BMC’s new collaboration with Takeda brings together two leading institutions with shared goals to reduce emissions and improve environmental sustainability. Each institution brings a unique perspective on full-circle product development and use. As Massachusetts’ largest pharmaceutical company, Takeda has relationships with many upstream packaging suppliers, while BMC interacts with downstream waste management handlers.  

As part of the collaboration, BMC will audit waste produced among the hospital’s largest generators of regulated medical waste and associated emissions: outpatient and inpatient pharmacies and its infusion unit, where patients receive IV medication. Concurrently, BMC and Takeda will consult with experts to explore and pilot behavioral, material, and circular solutions aimed at reducing single-use waste. Jessica Viera, Takeda’s head of value chain sustainability, welcomes the opportunity to expand the company’s work to reduce emissions through the insights gathered at BMC. 

“The disposal of regulated medical waste makes up about 3% to 5% of Takeda’s total corporate carbon footprint across our value chain. This is not a problem that we can solve on our own,” Viera says. “We are really excited to work with Boston Medical Center to further understand the challenges to mitigate emissions and pilot novel solutions that can move us in the right direction.”  

Modeling sustainability efforts to protect health and fuel equity

BMC’s commitment to environmental justice is rooted in health equity. Approximately 70% of the hospital’s patients are people of color, the majority of whom live in disinvested areas disproportionately impacted by climate change. Extreme heat, increasing storm intensity, and poor air quality are more significant threats to the health and safety of residents in these neighborhoods, leading to higher asthma rates and more heat-related illnesses.    

For more than a decade, BMC has worked toward decreasing the effects of its operations on the natural environment. The hospital started its journey with a campus redesign project that made it more environmentally efficient. Through energy efficiency measures, real estate optimization strategies, investments in renewable energy, and a first-of-its-kind power purchase agreement, BMC has reduced its emissions by approximately 90% since 2011 and aims to reach net zero by 2050. 

BMC is also pushing the boundaries of what is possible on its campus. This year, the hospital added another rooftop farm, which will more than double the yields of organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs that sustain patients and the community around BMC. A recently installed 356-kilowatt solar array on a BMC administrative building at 960 Massachusetts Avenue now provides energy credits to patients experiencing energy insecurity through a first-of-its-kind program. Partnering with Eversource, the hospital’s pilot Clean Energy Prescription Program plans to enroll 80 households to offset their electric bills through lower-cost renewable energy.   

“The disposal of regulated medical waste makes up about 3% to 5% of Takeda’s total corporate carbon footprint across our value chain. This is not a problem that we can solve on our own. We are really excited to work with Boston Medical Center to further understand the challenges to mitigate emissions and pilot novel solutions that can move us in the right direction.”

Jessica Viera, Takeda head of value chain sustainability

“Without our patients having healthy environments to live in, without them having healthy food, without them having opportunities to literally thrive, nothing ever changes for them, and we cannot do our job as providers of healthcare. So, we continue to expand our definition of healthcare,” explains Thea James, MD, MPH, BMC vice president of mission.  

It is with this outlook that BMC will drive this initiative with Takeda to reduce emissions from regulated medical waste. This first-of-its-kind industry collaboration, both in scale and in scope, is a critical step towards achieving both institutional and industry sustainability goals. BMCHS Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Bob Biggio sees hospitals partnering with suppliers and vendors to reduce environmental impact as the most an important step in the health sector’s journey toward sustainability.  

“This collaboration is a critical step in driving innovation in the medical supply chain that can be shared with other healthcare organizations for a healthier environment for all communities,” emphasized Biggio.