Panel seeks cheaper disposal of medical waste

AUGUSTA – A committee is looking at the possibility of disinfecting and disposing of 110 tons of biomedical waste produced monthly by 37 hospitals in Maine instead of sending it out of state for disposal.

The 37 hospitals that currently ship their waste out of state want to cut the $685-a-ton cost of disposal. University of Maine studies suggest the costs of in-state disposal would be between $374 and $516 a ton.

“Hospitals are under tremendous pressure to keep costs under control,” said Jim Harnar, spokesman for the Maine Hospital Association, whose Working Group on Biomedical Waste Management meets once a month.

The waste management committee includes association members and representatives of the Department of Environmental Protection, the State Planning Office and Natural Resources Council of Maine.

Currently, 37 of the 39 hospitals in Maine are contracted to Stericycle Inc. for out-of-state biomedical waste disposal. Two small hospitals in Fort Kent and Machias burn their biomedical waste on site, but they are expected to shut down those operations next year.

The current situation of having one vendor handle and dispose of about 99 percent of Maine’s bagged and boxed medical waste is a major concern of hospitals, Harnar said.

Since Stericycle controls the medical waste disposal market in Maine, there is no competition that could drive prices down, he said.

The first proposal to handle medical wastes in-state calls for placing a large treatment machine at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, and a smaller machine at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Other proposals include putting one large machine in Lewiston, or putting 10 small processing machines in hospitals throughout the state and one medium-sized machine in Portland and one in Bangor.

Scott Austin, of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management, said a state law prohibits the construction of new commercial waste disposal facilities.

“But if the hospitals do it, it’s OK,” Austin said. Hospitals are exempt from the provisions since they are noncommercial, nonprofit entities, he said.

Committee members will continue to look at plans for doing away with out-of-state disposal of Maine’s medical waste. The group is expected to report back to the Legislature’s Committee on Natural Resources by May.