University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) - Research portal
Gewählte Master / Diploma Thesis:
Bettina Glanner
(2014):
Optimierung der Abfalllogistik und der getrennten Sammlung im Krankenhaus.
Master / Diploma Thesis - Institut für Abfallwirtschaft (ABF-BOKU),
BOKU-Universität für Bodenkultur,
pp 95.
UB BOKU
obvsg
- Abstract:
- The huge quantity of waste coming from hospitals leads to environmental challenges as well as high costs. An effective separate waste collection scheme could help reduce these problems. The objectives of this thesis are to find out if a separate waste collection in hospitals is feasible and if requirements to determine such a strategy can be established. For this, research was conducted at Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital in Vienna, where data was collected both from the surgery ward and the administrative department. Site inspections gave an insight into the current practice of waste management. The composition of the waste was analysed by sighting the waste. A survey was conducted among the hospital staff, patients and visitors to gather information about the acceptance of separate waste collection in hospitals and to identify preferences in order to overcome opposition. Finally, an experiment was carried out in which bins for separate waste collection were introduced in the patients’ lounge in order to determine the feasibility of this strategy. The research revealed that the separately collected recyclables had an extremely high quality. The residual waste of the administrative department contained more than 50% recyclables, that of the surgery ward contained about 20% recyclables. Recycling bins were not available at all locations and the existing bins were poorly labelled. The survey pointed to a high willingness among all participants to cooperate in a separate waste collection scheme. The experiment further confirmed this result by revealing a higher amount of recyclables in recycling bins than in the residual waste. The conclusion of this thesis is that the percentage of recyclables found in residual waste can be minimized by introducing additional recycling bins with clear labelling in high-impact locations and on-going communication about separate waste collection. Taking all this into consideration a separate waste collection in hospitals is feasible.
- Beurteilende(r): Salhofer Stefan Petrus
- 1.Mitwirkender: Obersteiner Gudrun