Sustainable Technologies and Programs
Stryker Sustainability Solutions
Stryker Sustainability Solutions is an industry-leading recycling and reclamation initiative that reprocesses valuable single-use medical devices for reuse.
The program collects single-use surgical devices in a specialized “green” container. The Stryker collection bin replaces the current yellow bin and, therefore, no extra space is required for collection. All materials that would normally go into the container are accepted. No sorting is required – SSS does the sorting. No workflow changes are required on behalf of clinical surgical staff.
The green receptacles are sent to Stryker for sorting, processing and recycling. Stryker has a “buy-back” program that is complementary to their collection initiative, with processed devices being approximately 40% cost of the original device.
As well as the obvious environmental benefits, hospitals save money by diverting expensive biohazard materials from landfill. The program is very easy to implement as SSS representatives coordinate with hospitals’ environmental services and provide education to operating room staff.
Contact: david.k.brown@stryker.com or 416-948-6865
Contributed by Dr. Anita Rao