Use this checklist to determine if your hospital is ready to consider a plastic recycling program.

What is the Hospital’s Passion for Sustainability?

• Is there a commitment from executive leadership?

• Will executive management endorse and support this program?

• Is plastics recycling aligned with your hospital’s sustainability strategy?

Are Key Stakeholders Engaged and Committed?

• Have key stakeholders within the hospital been identified? Consider department chairs, department leaders, departmental green champions, nursing teams, Environmental Services (EVS), facilities, and other groups that will be key to a successful recycling program.

• Will key stakeholders agree to commit the necessary time, effort, training, and space requirements to a plastics recycling program?

• Are employees passionate about sustainability and recycling? Will there be any staff concerns?

• Will there be any waste or or union contract negotiations required?

Have You Identified a Recycling Partner?

• Have you identified a regional plastic recycler who is familiar with healthcare plastics and who has visited your facility to understand how you will collect the materials and how they will ultimately be transported to their facility?

• Will collection and initial transportation of these materials be performed by a service provider which is already working at the hospital, such as a document destruction company or linen service supplier?

• Have the logistics of material collection within the hospital and transportation off-site been addressed?

Consider the Timing

• Is your hospital ready for a new sustainability initiative? Implementation or new initiative fatigue can be an issue.

• Are other recycling programs already implemented and operating smoothly?

• Can this recycling initiative be combined with another recycling initiative or another sustainability initiative?

• Can this recycling initiative be added as part of enhancing or streamlining an existing recycling program?

If the majority of these boxes are checked, your hospital is ready to evaluate implementation of a healthcare plastics recycling program.

If several boxes remain unchecked, the Guide to Developing a Business Case Tool may be useful to demonstrate the benefits and gain the support and approval needed to implement a healthcare plastics recycling program in your hospital.