SSM Health Care's seven St. Louis hospitals are sending used medical supplies to a refining company, which pays the hospitals for the precious metals it recovers from the waste products. SSM Health Care – St. Louis expects to earn as much as $200,000 annually from the efforts and to reduce its waste stream, according to a SSM press release.
SSM DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton, Mo., launched the metal recycling program last spring and SSM Health Care – St. Louis is introducing it in its other hospitals. Staff can deposit radiology films, catheters, electrodes and other medical devices containing metal in collection containers in clinical departments. The refining company, Arch Enterprises of Mexico, Mo., uses furnaces, thermal oxidation and other processes to extract silver, gold and platinum from the used materials. It pays SSM based on the market value of each reclaimed metal.
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