Our eco-friendly programs
 The U-M Health System currently has in place a number of programs that address the need to sustain ourselves in an environmentally friendly and cost efficient manner. Many of these programs also are available to the public for participation.
Education
The UMHS provides extensive training and education on the proper handling and management of hazardous, regulated medical and general waste for staff members and consultation and advice to community organizations. These programs are administered by Safety Management Services and the U-M Office of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health and include:
- The Hazard Communication Safety Academy for staff
- Regularly scheduled mandatory exams on safety and hazardous material handling
- Continuous internal communications efforts
- Hazardous Waste Collection and Recycle Day
Energy conservation
The utilities we consume on a daily basis are water, natural gas, steam and electricity. The University of Michigan, in which the U-M Health System participates, has had an energy conservation program in place since 1973. To date, the program has saved nearly $78,000 in energy costs.
Energy conservation measures include following the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Program, participating in the Green Lights program to reduce electricity usage and pollution causing lighting, and the Energy Saving Buildings program to renovate building to be more energy efficient throughout all U-M and UMHS buildings.
Also an energy conservation measure, the UMHS decommissioned its incinerator in 2000, a move that not only reduced air pollution but saved the UMHS thousands of dollars in energy costs per year. In addition, the UMHS regularly installs motion-sensor lighting controls in restrooms, classrooms and offices to help conserve electricity.
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Buy Green: Environmentally preferable purchasing
The U-M Purchasing office supports and encourages the use of recycled, remanufactured and environmentally friendly supplies. These efforts include the use of environmentally preferable materials in interior design, such as in recycled content wallpaper, and in choosing mops and cleaning supplies that reduce the amount of water needed to complete a task. In addition, electronics such as computers, televisions, microwaves and others that carry the Energy Star label are preferred over products that do not.
Purchasing formally supports the Health System-wide ban on purchasing mercury-containing products when a mercury-free product is available. Currently, the U-M Hospitals and Health Centers use digital and tympanic thermometers in patient care areas and Enviro-Safe thermometers in laboratories.
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 Hazardous waste management
Small electronics and computers
Computers and other small electronics in good working condition are sent to Property Disposition, an outlet for selling surplus property from across campus that was created in the early 1960s as a service to the university and the greater community to improve equipment utilization and ensure recycling.
Non-working computers, calculators, non-working cell phones and other small electronics are collected and sent to a processing facility to recapture precious metals, plastics and hazardous chemicals contained in these items to be sold or recycled.
Fluorescent bulbs
Fluorescent bulbs also are sent to a special processing facility where the glass, aluminum housings, light ballasts, phosphorus and mercury are captured and recycled. Last year, the UMHS recycled 18,780 fluorescent bulbs and 2.5 tons of light ballasts.
Cell phones
Personal and department cells phones are collected and donated to local women's shelters to be used as emergency phones. Facilities Services collects these phones and sends them to a local wireless telephone company for reprogramming. Phones that cannot be reprogrammed are
sent with other non-working electronics to be recycled.
Xylene, formalin and other chemicals
Pathology recently has developed a program to recycle alcohol, xylene and formalin by distillation. In addition, silver-sulphite, a chemical waste generated by X-ray machines, is collected and processed by a local company. Last year, by recycling or distilling these chemicals, the UMHS was able to reduce the amount of hazardous chemical waste it produced by 1,155 gallons. By recycling these chemicals, the UMHS was able to save more than $17,000 in waste disposal costs in 2004 and projects a savings of approximately $23,000 per year once the recycling program is in full operation.
Battery recycling and processing
The UMHS collects batteries for recycling. Batteries that cannot be recycled are disposed of as hazardous waste. Last year, the UMHS recycled nearly 2.5 tons of batteries.
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Reuse and recycle
 Medical textbooks
Nursing, medical staff and students often find a surplus of text books after receiving their medical or nursing degrees or specialized training. Facilities Services has provided a place for discarded books to be stored. These medical textbooks are then made available to students and other staff to peruse and take home if they wish. Leftover books are donated to charity or recycled.
Medical supplies and equipment
Health regulations require that dated medical supplies be discarded. Some of these supplies are still usable and are regularly collected and shipped to medical agencies around the globe in support of worldwide medical relief efforts.
Equipment such as gurneys, wheel chairs, dated but usable furniture and mattresses are sent to Property Disposition or donated to charity organizations and homeless shelters in the Detroit-metro area.
Toner cartridges
The UMHS participates in toner cartridge recycling. Units are able to return these cartridges to the vendor to receive a refund. The UMHS also collects these cartridges from the community to raise funds for patient education programs.
Campbell's labels, Box Tops for Education
Campbell's brand can and boxed food labels and General Mill's Box Tops for Education are collected and redeemed for up to $.10 each to help raise funds for patient education activities.
Pop cans and bottles
Employees are encouraged to donate their pop cans and bottles generated while at work by depositing them into special cardboard receptacles located in each unit and department. A portion of the refunds are donated to charity or patient programs.
Aluminum pull-tabs
The UMHS collects aluminum pull-tabs from diet supplement cans, such as Ensure, and soup and pop cans from employees and members of the community to raise funds for patient programs and other charities. Currently, UMHS receives $.43 per pound for these tabs.
This very successful program has resulted in tons of aluminum pull-tabs being donated to UMHS. Recent tab donations include 16 boxes of pull-tabs collected by Volunteer Services and the donation of a station wagon full of pop tabs collected by a Kalamazoo couple as a donation of thanks for the care they received.
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Wooden pallets
Instead of being broken down and sent to the landfill, wooden pallets are saved for future use or donated to companies that can re-use them.
Paper, cardboard and phonebooks
 The UMHS has contracted with a vendor that provides on-site paper shredding to protect patient information and collects all recyclable office paper generated by UMHS - about 300 tons last year.
Every year, local phone companies issue and distribute literally tons of new phone books. When UMHS receives shipments of the new phonebooks, it collects and recycles the old ones. These old phone books account for nearly three tons of paper recycled annually by UMHS.
Cardboard boxes are regularly available for staff members in need of moving boxes. Unused boxes are recycled and accounted for 374 tons of cardboard recycled last year by UMHS.
Scrap metal and building materials
When construction projects and renovations take place on the UMHS campus, scrap metal and reusable or recyclable building materials are collected. Last year, UMHS recycled 109 tons of scrap metal.
Clear glass
Generally, there are two types of glass used at UMHS - glass commonly used in food storage, such as jars and bottles, and glass used for medications. The largest portion of glass in our waste stream is made specifically to hold medications and is not meant to be recycled. However, the UMHS provides glass collection containers to capture recyclable glass and separate containers to capture non-recyclable glass and processes them appropriately.
Office supplies
Unused or no longer useful office supplies in any one department that would otherwise be destined for the landfill are now swapped or given away to other departments that can use them on MBay, the UMHS's online trading site. MBay allows departments and units across the institution to advertise items such as toner cartridges, fax paper, office equipment and other sundries up for free to whomever can arrange for the items to be transported.
Plastics
UMHS has recently completed a plastics recycling pilot program for plastic waste generated in the operating rooms. In the past, UMHS was able to collect only four types of plastics. Now, UMHS can recycle any type of clean, uncontaminated plastic, as long as there is a recycling symbol imprinted on the material. Just last year, UMHS recycled 17 tons of plastics.
In addition, UMHS reuses five-gallon buckets to collect batteries as part of its hazardous waste management program and 55-gallon drums to capture yellow cooking oil and lubricants for reprocessing.
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Wastewater management
Safety Management Services and the U-M Office of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health work continuously to reduce the amount of wastewater being generated by University Hospital and improve the quality of wastewater it generates. Recent projects include:
- Working with Dentistry to plan for the installation of a dental waste tank
- Monitoring kitchens to identify alternative disposal methods
- Working to ensure pharmaceuticals are not being disposed of in the wastewater stream
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The U-M Health System has over the years identified various vendors, resources and programs that have enabled the UMHS to reach the status in environmental stewardship it has today. Peruse the list of charity organizations, government and community agencies, suggested programs and vendors below so that you can get started on the road to being a better environmental steward.
Charity organizations
The UMHS regularly donates surplus items to charity organizations, including the following local organizations:
Detroit Rescue Mission
Lyons Club
Women's Health Resource Center
This is a volunteer-based program through the U-M Health System. In addition to providing a resource for women's health issues, they collect old cell phones for reprogramming.
World Medical Relief
Government and community agencies
These agencies provide a wealth of information on how to run an environmentally friendly business or home, from state and federal laws to how tips
American Hospital Association
EnergyStar
Environmental Protection Agency
Health Care Without Harm
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
Michigan Recycling Coalition
National Recycling Coalition
Local and nation-wide service and equipment vendors
Ann Arbor recycling resources
Enviro-Safe Thermometers by HB Instrument Company
Fluorescent tube recycling
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