Parkland Health & Hospital System Dallas County : Waste not, want not – recycle post-holiday, year-round

Posted: 1/3/2018

Parkland recycles 1.7 million pounds of materials each year

Gift boxes, comfort food covered in aluminum foil and festive trees - these are trappings of the holiday season. What to do with the mountain of refuse after the gifts are opened and the parties end? Although your first instinct may be to toss it all in the garbage, that may not be the best solution.

The city of Dallas estimates its residents throw away more than 86,000 tons of recyclables each year. That's equivalent to 1,000 Boeing 737 airplanes loaded to full capacity. In an effort to lower these staggering numbers, reduce costs to the organization and promote environmental consciousness, Parkland Health & Hospital System encourages recycling practices through its sustainability team.

'Recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, saves energy, prevents pollution and helps conserve natural resources. It's important that we all take part in this effort at work and at home,' said Miranda Skaaning, manager of Facilities Business Sustainability for Parkland. 'We encourage Parkland employees to recycle using a variety of practices.'

Across the health system, employees can recycle items such as batteries, scrap metals, electronic waste, plastics and paper products. However, the most common method of recycling used at Parkland is single-stream recycling.

Single-stream is a recycling program that allows different recyclables to be placed into a single bin. Accepted items include paper, cardboard, plastics and small metal items such as staples and paper clips. After collection, all recyclable materials are taken to an offsite location known as a Material Recovery Facility (MRF, pronounced 'murf') where they are sorted and processed by a combination of workers and specialized machinery.

Single stream recycling efforts at Parkland formally began in 2014.

'When we started implementing the single-stream recycling program, we discovered that several groups of passionate employees were already separating the recyclable items and taking them to drop-off sites,' Skaaning said.

One of those employees was Amy Callahan, RN, who works in the Cath Lab.

'After the single-stream initiative was rolled out we assessed the types of packaging we had, all the items we used and what could and couldn't be recycled,' Callahan said. 'I got extra recycling bins and we set up a new recycling process to ensure that our recycling is done properly. We hope our recycling efforts help Parkland save money.'

Callahan and other dedicated recyclers in the health system help ensure the success of Parkland's ongoing efforts.

'Our basic recycling programs typically divert more than 1.7 million pounds of materials from the landfill and provide a combined income and savings of over $70,000 annually,' Skaaning said.

To put it in perspective, Parkland recycles materials weighing as much as 142 African elephants or 400 mid-sized SUVs each year.

'According to EPA calculations, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions we are reducing through our recycling program is equivalent to the amount of CO2 that 3,000 acres of forest would take out of the atmosphere each year,' Skaaning said.

Skaaning and Callahan add that while recycling at home and in the workplace can be challenging, education and proper planning make it easier.

'Bad habits are hard to break, but the beginning of the year is a great time to change the way you do things. I believe the practices we implemented at Parkland can be used at home, too,' Skaaning said.

If you are thinking about starting your recycling journey, Skaaning offered these tips:

• Dedicate a bin to recycled items. Place it next to your trash can for easier access
• Visit your city website to find resources about recycling programs and drop-off centers in your area
• Learn about sorting criteria because not all recyclables are created equal

'Recycling is good for our communities and it helps taxpayers' wallets, too. As a Dallas County resident and someone who loves Parkland and wants to work here forever, that means a lot to me,' Callahan said.

To learn more about Sustainability at Parkland, please visit www.parklandhospital.com/phhs/sustainability.aspx. For more information on services at Parkland, please visit www.parklandhospital.com.

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