Baxa increases recycling initiatives by 22%

Apr 22 2011

In conjunction with Earth Day 2011, Baxa Corporation today announced its continued strides to reduce the environmental impact of business operations – from manufacturing efficiency to packaging design and office processes.

Since 2008 the company's recycling initiatives have grown by 22 percent; and in 2010 alone its comprehensive program contributed nearly 100 tons of single-stream recycling. This significant achievement reduced the consumption of:

• 45,527 gallons of oil;
• 2,360 gallons of gasoline; and
• 688,310 gallons of water.

"As with patient safety, we recognize environmental conservation is a way of life, or a set of behaviors. Last year, we saved more water than it takes to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool. Achieving real results like that means something to our organization," stated Greg Baldwin, Chairman and CEO of Baxa.

"Our focus on the reduced use of resources permeates all that Baxa does. In fact, we just reconfigured our ExactaMix® disposables packaging to a more compact design to reduce the storage requirements and waste burden," continued Baldwin. "As a practitioner of the lean manufacturing philosophy, we support lean pharmacy objectives with our partners and customers as well."

Charting an Environmental Course

Baxa strives to foster a culture of environmental stewardship, both for itself and its network of customers. In 1999 the company adopted lean manufacturing principles to reduce waste and scrap in production. Then, in 2002, the company built its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant to increase efficiency in lighting, air handling and process control.

The Baxa environmental perspective extends beyond the walls of its LEED® silver-certified headquarters, as the DoseEdge® pharmacy workflow management system works to minimize pharmacy waste. Of the nearly 4,000 active DoseEdge users, more than 41,000 doses have been reused since the product's inception – a direct result of its waste reduction capabilities.

Recently Allegheny General Hospital, a 661-bed facility in Pennsylvania, conducted a study to reduce the volume of discarded IV doses. The results, which were presented at the 2010 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, highlighted the role DoseEdge played in the dramatic reduction of IV waste volume. In just eighteen months the hospital slashed its annualized number of wasted doses by 69 percent. This marks a reduction of 22,995 doses. According to the research, Allegheny's coordinated approach to waste reduction translated to an annualized savings of $310,000.

Directors of Pharmacy and industry professionals can discover more about minimizing waste in the pharmacy by attending the upcoming educational webinar, "Implementation of Dose Management Tools and the Impact on Sterile Product Waste." This free event will be held July 27th and be led by Dennis Killian PharmD, PhD, Director of Pharmacy Services at Peninsula Regional Medical Center and Associate Professor, University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy. For more information and to register visit www.baxa.com/webinars.

SOURCE Baxa Corporation