Environmental sustainability

Our commitment to sustainability

Taking care of our environment is critical to ensure good health for our patients, employees and community.

Green Team

Staff at Buffalo Hospital started a combined Green Team with Cambridge Medical Center staff in 2024. The Green Team coordinates and leads sustainability efforts.

Green Team achievements

Waste reduction

Recycled park benches

The Buffalo/Cambridge Green Team partnered with Whirltronics in Buffalo to recycle plastic waste and turn it into park benches for Wright County parks.

Rheaply

The Green Team has set up accounts on the Rheaply platform to facilitate the reuse and distribution of surplus items. The team has diverted over 1,000 lbs or waste from the landfill.

Recyclable silverware

The Green Team has switched both sites to recyclable silverware to reduce waste.

Signage and training for waste disposal

The team is evaluating signage, training and compliance for hazardous and red bag waste bins to ensure proper waste segregation.

Sparkle Day

Staff in the Community Benefits & Engagement Department at Buffalo recognized the need to address unused items that are stored away and forgotten. This led to the creation of Sparkle Day, a day dedicated to finding and organizing unused items. The mission and vision of Sparkle Day is to repurpose these resources wisely by giving them to a place where it has value.

Gift Baskets

In addition to Sparkle Day, Community Benefits & engagement staff have found a creative way to divert potential waste from the landfills. Unsold items at Buffalo Hospital's gift shop are now repurposed into gift baskets for community partner events, galas, and fundraisers. Each gift basket also contains a certificate for the gift shop. this project has strengthened relationships with our partners and members of the community.

Blue wrap recycling

Cambridge Medical Center recycles blue wrap, material used to keep surgical supplies sterile. The blue wrap is eventually pelletized and sued as a feedstock for making new products. Blue wrap is one of the cleanest materials that leaves hospitals, which make it a good recycling feedstock. Merrick, Inc takes the blue wrap and provides meaningful employment to people with disabilities.

Donations to Matter

Surplus medical equipment and supplies are donated to Matter. Matter sends the material to hospitals and clinics in places like Senegal, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Reusable sharps containers

Reusable sharps containers were implemented throughout the Allina Health system in 2014-2015.

Styrofoam elimination

In 2019, Styrofoam cups were replaced with paper cups across the system.

Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency initiatives

The Green Team has been working on replacing incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs across the two sites. They are also conducting energy assessments to identify any further opportunities for energy savings.