Environmental Stewardship – Local Waste Reduction Efforts
Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Montana
St. Patrick Hospital is an outstanding example of waste optimization. For two years in a row, St. Patrick
Hospital has achieved a major waste reduction milestone – more than
50 percent of their waste is now being recycled or safely diverted
away from landfill or incineration (achieving 52.9% in 2019). They are
the only ministry in our family of organizations to achieve this goal.
This incredible accomplishment was achieved through the "Green 4
Good" program run by the local green team. This multi-pronged
approach focused on reducing waste from food, linens and garbage.
Here are a few key successes:
• 37 percent less food waste by composting, tracking food
waste, and educating caregivers – leading to $100,000 in food
spend savings
• 7.3 percent less white copy paper use, in collaboration with
caregivers and IT staff
• 50 percent less disposable plastic spoon usage in one unit, saving 3,000 spoons from going to
landfill
• 2,442.4 pounds of medical supplies were donated and diverted from landfill
• Over 200,000 water bottles diverted from landfill
• Additionally, St. Patrick Hospital pursued sustainable procurement with dual purpose IVs and
repurposed blue wrap from the OR into sleeping bags for a local homeless shelter.
TIP: The caregivers responsible for these impressive successes at St. Patrick Hospital say that
communication is key! They put a lot of effort into educating caregivers on the proper way to
dispose and segregate waste. They created color-coded signage, newsletters, a group called
"Waste Shepherds" and practice sessions for proper waste segregation to help with the
education process.
