Reducing regulated medical waste: A roadmap for process improvement

The United States is a major producer of medical waste. While the recommended standard percentage of Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) in health care facilities is 15% or less of overall waste, up to 70% of healthcare waste is disposed of as RMW, a third of which comes from the operating room. Health care has an enormous impact on the environment, making up 4.4. % of global net emissions. The United States is one of the top three emitters in the world, and together with China and the European Union makes up 56 % of the total health care climate footprint.