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Reusable vs. Disposable Textiles

Reusable vs. disposable products? There are lots of considerations. Disposable products are often thought of as less costly, but at the end of the day when a life cycle analysis is used, this argument should be re-assessed. Consistent with a facilities mission of environmental stewardship and cost containment, healthcare facilities can effectively reduce solid waste in their operations and save money by switching to reusable products where feasible.

Determining the "true cost" of using Disposable Textiles

When doing a cost analysis between a reusable product and its disposable alternative, the common mistake healthcare managers make is to only account for the purchase price of the disposable. However, the "true cost" of using a disposable product goes beyond just the purchase price. The following formula will help you determine the "true cost" of using disposables:

Purchase Price + Cost of Waste Disposal + Occupational Health Costs + Environmental Impact + Warehousing Cost = TRUE COST OF DISPOSABLES

When decision-makers do the math, they will find that the "true cost" of disposables is typically twice that of using its reusable counterpart.

Cost of the Waste Generated by Disposables

America's hospitals generate 6,600 tons of waste each day. Hospitals that have chosen to use disposable products rather than reusable produce a substantially greater amount of solid and medical waste, costing them more in disposal costs. According to a 2000 report by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the average hospital's cost of disposing of waste is $44 to $68 a ton.

One of the common areas in the hospital where disposable products have been used as an alternative to reusable is in the operating room. According to the 2005 Comparative Operating Revenues and Expense Profile for the Healthcare Textile Maintenance Industry, which included 49% of all U.S. hospital beds in its study, approximately 6.5 pounds of surgical textiles are used per bed each day in hospitals with 300 or more beds. If a 300-bed hospital chose to use disposable surgical products rather than reusables, they would incur upwards of an additional $250,000 in costs to trash the disposable products - about 35 cents per pound that should be added to the purchase price or $833.33 per bed per year.

Environmental Costs of Using Disposable Products

The environmental cost of using disposable products is extremely significant. Unlike reusable textiles, disposable products are used once and then thrown away. Consider these points:

• Mountains of Waste: Disposable healthcare products add millions of tons of waste each year to America's landfills. 
• Pollution: Disposable healthcare textiles in landfills have the potential to seep into ground water and affect water supplies. Burned medical waste also pollutes the environment. 
• Resources: Water, energy and chemicals are necessary for the production of disposable healthcare products. However, unlike reusables, these products are only used once and then have to be remanufactured using more water, energy and chemicals

Environmental Costs of Reusable Textiles

While processing reusable products requires resources like water, energy and chemicals, modern laundering techniques have vastly improved the efficiency of the laundering process. For example, washing a pound of healthcare textile had previously required three gallons of water. However, thanks to innovative equipment, that number is less than three-quarters of a gallon today. Further water savings are being achieved in modern laundries by recycling and reusing water. Natural gas and oil use has also decreased per pound thanks to heat reclamation and other innovative solutions to return energy to washers, dryers and ironers. Chemical use also is declining thanks to chemical injection systems. Advanced wastewater treatment systems successfully clean the water used in laundering facilities so they may be discharged safely into the municipal sewer system.

Other Key Points

Using reusable textile products rather than disposable textile can help healthcare organizations more quickly achieve its waste reduction goals while also reducing costs. When discussing reusable versus disposables with administrators, consider these talking points:

Reusables are better for the environment.

• Disposables are used once and trashed, increasing the amount of waste generated by the facility.
• Disposables require water, energy and chemicals in order to be manufactured.
• Whether sent to a landfill or burned, disposable medical textiles potentially can pollute water supplies and the air.
• Innovations in laundering have cut the amount of water, energy and chemical use by two to three times.

Using reusable textiles will help achieve Practice Greenhealth goals.

• By reducing the amount of disposable textiles they use, hospitals organizations can eliminate hundreds of thousands to millions of pounds of waste generated by disposables.


Reusables costs half as much when compared to the "true cost" of disposables.

• The purchase price is not the only cost of a disposable textile product.
• The cost of disposing hospital waste is $44 to $68 a ton.
• In an operating room using disposable textiles, the disposal cost alone is $250,000 for a 300-bed hospital.
• An ANSI and AAMI study show that reusable surgical gowns and drapes are 70% more effective at providing barrier protection than disposable alternatives.
• Disposable textiles require more on-site storage as compared with reusables that are delivered daily. The space currently used to warehouse disposable products could be converted to revenue-generating uses, such as for medical equipment, operating rooms or more patient beds.

Medical professionals and patients prefer the quality of reusables.

• Doctors, nurses and patients prefer the feel of linen items rather than the coarse paper of disposables.
• Professionally laundered linens provide the healthcare facility with a more professional image.

Source: http://www.practicegreenhealth.org