Reducing Waste

Eliminating waste is a part of our culture at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. We adopted the Virginia Mason Production System in 2002 to reduce all kinds of waste out of our system.

Health care generates more than 5.9 million tons of landfill waste per year, according to Practice Green Health. Waste in landfills is a long-term burden to communities. Virginia Mason Medical Center works to reduce our landfill waste to keep our neighbors healthy using a comprehensive approach. Our recycling and composting program keeps more than 50 percent of our waste out of the landfill, more than double the industry average.

We keep waste out of the landfill through a strategic approach that looks at all of our waste streams. Our program includes projects like packaging reduction, composting, proper handling of laboratory waste, pharmaceutical waste reduction, recycling clinical and consumer waste, and donating unneeded medical supplies to our partner in global health, Medical Teams International.