It takes only a small amount of effort to create and follow a procedure in your office to ensure that all ink and toner cartridges are recycled. First, draft a simple policy stating that 100% of cartridges will be recycled effective on, say, October 1. Educate your entire staff (doctors included) that this is the new rule, and designate a box (or several, if your office is large) for everyone to deposit their used cartridges. Assign one person to monitor the box and be in charge of recycling on a regular basis. It’s really that simple.

As of mid-September, Medical Arts Press® is making it easier for offices to recycle used cartridges. Customers can request a postage-paid mailing label or shipping box to return their used, undamaged cartridges. To sweeten the deal even further, practices that use this free service will receive $2 in Medical Arts Cash for each cartridge they return. This is credit that can be applied to purchase any product the company offers. What a deal. Click here for details.

Recycling is great, but reducing waste from the get-go is even better. You can cut down on the number of ink and toner cartridges you use each year by following some of these simple tips.

• Think before you print. If you can work effectively from what you’re seeing on the screen, whether that’s information from a Web site, an e-mail, patient data, or a document you’re editing, try to do so
• Proof your work carefully before printing to reduce the need for second or third copies of the same document.
• Set your printers to draft, economy, or low resolution mode until you really need to print in the highest resolution.
• Before making copies, consider how many you really need. How often have you shown up at a staff meeting with copies of the agenda or a new policy, only to find that half the people in the room had already printed their own?

If you don’t already have a comprehensive program in place to recycle mixed paper, glass, cans and plastic, use this new opportunity to keep ink and toner cartridges out of the landfill to jump start an office-wide initiative to go green.

Cost. Disposable gowns typically run 40¢ to $1.00 each, depending on the style and brand. Cloth gowns cost in the $10-20 range (again depending on the size, style, and quality) but can last several years with proper care. To answer the cost question, do the math. Estimate how many patients put on gowns in your office each year (not all do – it depends on the reason for the visit). Calculate the annual expense for paper gowns versus cloth (figure conservatively that a cloth gown has a useful life of three or four years). Then, for cloth, calculate the cost of either using a laundry service or the investment in equipment, staff time, electricity, and supplies needed to do washing and drying in house.

Patient preference. While you already know that they would just as soon not to have to don a gown of any sort, determining whether your patients prefer cloth or paper is a relatively easy task. Simply conduct an in-office survey over a period of a month or two. Put out short forms, pens, and a response box in the reception area and as patients check in, have front desk staff ask them to complete the survey while they’re waiting. Instead of only asking, “Do you prefer cloth or paper gowns?” try to find out why. Do they feel that one or the other is warmer, or more comfortable, sanitary, or flattering?

Environmental impact. This is not as straightforward as you might think. At first blush, you might assume that paper is not a “green” alternative. Factor in, however, the hot water and energy (electricity or gas, plus the fuel used for transportation if you use a laundry service) needed for using cloth, and the picture isn’t quite so clear. For this blog post, we could not find an unbiased study comparing the environmental impact of using cloth versus paper in a medical office. If you know of such a study, please leave a comment below. (Note: One way to save the environment and save money, no matter which type of garment you choose, is to not have patients “gown up” unnecessarily.)

I started with three bags:

• Bag 1 does not get used
• Bag 2 gets used occasionally
• Bag 3 was on the roof

We are now in month 10 of the experiment. Bags 1 and 2 still look and feel like normal plastic bags. However, Bag 3 is now only a rectangular piece of plastic. I recently brought it inside because I was concerned about it blowing away. This change in environment has not stopped the degradation process. However, I do suspect the process will be slowed a little inside.

We still have 7 months before the other two are supposed to start degrading. Check Practice Essentials regularly to read more about our own Disappearing Act!

-Mary

*This post is part of an ongoing series of post. To read all of the entries about the degradable bags, click here.

When I stepped out on the roof, I anxiously peered around the door. I was in shock! Half of Bag 3 was completely gone! I had weighted the bag down with old catalogs, and at first that was all I could see. Underneath the catalogs were still remnants of the bag.

I can’t tell you how excited I am with the results of this experiment – and it’s only month six! Last month, I posted my prediction of what would happen:

So far, I’m right on target.Check out the images below to see the degradation process of the bags side by side.

What do you think will happen to the bags? I’d love to hear your predictions! Post a comment if you’d like to share.-MaryThis is the third post in an ongoing series of posts. Check back monthly for updates on our very own “Disappearing Act“.

 

A few months ago (much to my excitement), we added degradable supply bags to our product line. These bags are supposed to degrade after approximately one year.  The plastic will become brittle and quickly disintegrate into brittle flakes.  So, being a skeptic, I’m testing three samples of these bags to see if this will really happen:

• Bag 1 is at my desk.
• Bag 2 is being used periodically.
• Bag 3 is on the roof of our building weathering the elements.  This post will also catch you up to the real time of the experiment.  Due to the launch date of the blog, we are actually four months into this experiment. 

Now the exciting update!

Bag 1 is still in great condition. The plastic is still sturdy and there are no holes.

Bag 2 has been carried around and has been hanging on a hook with samples in it for the last four months. The plastic is a little crinkled from having things in it, but that is normal for any plastic bag. Another thing to note is the handles on this bag they are holding up fantastically. Despite being used, I would say this bag is still par for the course.

I am happy to report that Bag 3 is no longer a foot deep in snow. However, the past three months have still given the bag a run for its money. It has seen some very tumultuous weather – a lot of rain, wind, tornado warnings, and even hail. This bag is no longer usable. The handles ripped as soon as I tried to pick it up and the plastic has also gotten very thin.

I think the bag on the roof is going to degrade sooner than the year mark and I think the other two bags will begin the degradation process as planned.

This makes me really happy because with regular usage of these bags you get the bargain you planned for – a reliable plastic bag that will last for a year and then disintegrate. However, if the bag is thrown away or in a landfill sooner than this, it will disappear sooner than later! It’s the perfect combo.

I would love to hear your predictions of what will happen to these bags. Post a comment if you would like to share.

-Mary

This is the second post in an ongoing series of posts. Check back monthly for updates on our very own “Disappearing Act“.

     Have you ever purchased degradable bags?

Biodegradable: Green, but can leave traces of toxins.
Degradable: Made from oil, but breaks down into harmless materials.
Compostable: Green from beginning to end.

While it seems that compostable plastics are the greenest choice, let’s dig a little farther. Because so much energy is needed to produce these green plastics, determining the degree of green-ness is then based on the method of production and the energy consumed during production.  In that case, compostable plastics don’t seem as green. What can we take away from this?  Always read about your green products and ask questions.  With so much of our technology and daily lives now focused on improving emissions and reducing waste and energy consumption, we must keep learning as much as we can about what it truly means to be green. 

Click here to learn more about the information in this article.
                                                                                          
                                                                                           -Julia Gonsecki
                                                                                                                         Web Development Assistant

 Let us know!  How do you keep your practice “green”? Share your tips by posting a comment.