Ep. 12: Adam Hornback – Real Ways to Reduce Waste & Increase Recycling | This Week in Surgery Centers

Here’s what to expect on this week’s episode. 🎙️

Healthcare is not exactly known for being sustainable and environmentally friendly. Surgery centers and hospitals naturally accumulate a significant amount of waste, hard plastics, cardboard, and single-use materials daily. But, by taking a step back and evaluating your processes, your ASC can decrease the amount you contribute to landfills every year and save some money.

Having essentially grown up in the OR, Adam Hornback, Administrator at North Texas Team Care Surgery Center, noticed the substantial amount of waste his facility produced and decided to do something about it. Relying on a mix of passion and creativity, here’s what Adam shared.

🗑️ Reduce & Reuse
• Look closely at preference cards and only open what is needed. If a surgeon has items on their preference cards contingent on how the procedure goes, wait to open materials until you have to.
• Limit or remove the use of surgical packs, as most of the time, you don’t need everything in the pack, and you’ll end up throwing good supplies out.
• Find local vet clinics to partner with to share your expired medication, sterilization wraps, and more.
• Donate extra supplies or expired medication to mission trips.

♻️ Recycle
• Place clearly labeled bins around your facility that are easily accessible to staff, and educate your staff on what goes where.
• If your city does not have a commercial recycling program, leverage the residential program. Adam takes his recycling bins home, and your staff can rotate to do the same.
• Look into solar options. Energy costs will only increase, and you’ll financially break even on most solar panels ten years after installation.

Find the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube to hear all the details!