A general model to compute activity-based waste disposal costs for health care products

ABSTRACT

Hospitals are large producers of solid waste, of which some is benign, some is extremely hazardous, and much is in between. The cost of segregating and disposing of products in these waste streams is high, and studies have shown there is considerable potential to reduce these costs while simultaneously decreasing environmental impact. In this article we develop an activity-based costing method that assigns waste disposal costs proportionally to each product. By providing disposal cost information at this level of aggregation it is possible to directly influence purchasing decisions, identify priority products for focused interventions, and determine the ratio of a product's purchasing cost to disposal cost. The method is tested on products with different purchasing costs, disposal costs, physical characteristics, and disposal processes.

Funding

This research received financial support from the Resource Recovery Fund Board Inc., Truro, Nova Scotia.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Peter T. Vanberkel is an assistant professor of industrial engineering at Dalhousie University and a staff scientist at the IWK Health Centre, both in Nova Scotia, Canada. He has worked and researched in health care for over a decade primarily in Canada and The Netherlands.

Ms. Saeideh Y. Moayed graduated with her M.A.Sc. from the department of industrial engineering at Dalhousie University in October 2015. Before starting her M.A.Sc. she worked for several years as an industrial engineer with ITC Company in Tehran, Iran. She currently works for FedEx in Vancouver, Canada.