According to Ultradent’s partner, GreenFiber, the largest producer of cellulose insulation in North America, recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,000 kW of energy every year. In an effort to conserve the natural habitat and landfill space, Ultradent has implemented a formal recycling program. Newspapers, phonebooks, office paper, magazines, catalogs and books will be collected and donated to GreenFiber for renewal as environmentally friendly, highly efficient, flame resistant insulation and to create a greener community in the process.
All employees will be encouraged to consider the environment when printing, even printing on both sides of the paper whenever possible and recycling used paper. The benefits will be shared by all.
Dan
Comments (2)
When thinking about recycling in the dental setting, think the 3 R'S:
REUSEABLE-REBUILDABLE AND RECYCLABLE!
We don't need to fill landfills with disposables and or plastics that so much of the industry has us using.
Let's go back, to get to the future and be ECO-FRIENDLY.
All metal instruments have longer duration, work great after hundreds of sterilization cycles and more often than not, can be rebuilt.
33 plus years of practicing clinical dental hygiene in multiple settings, have shown me that waste has become obscene these last decades. Remember the good old days when we sterilized almost everything...instruments of course and bibs, pouches, prophy angles, cups, etc.
Did we become lazy or crazed to rush on to the next patient? I guess it can be seen a number of ways.
Let's encourage preservation of environmental resourses by going to all reusable, products that can be rebuilt and at the very least, recycled into parts and products we can order and use in our practice settings without built-in obsolesence of plastics and paper.
Madalyn Rosenbluth, RDH
Founder Madultrasonics
Madultrasonics.com
Posted by Madalyn Rosenbluth, RDH | July 10, 2009 4:44 PM
Posted on July 10, 2009 16:44
The green wave is catching on in dentistry! The choices made by our large suppliers make a huge difference, and, there are greener choices all of us can make in daily practice.
The Eco-Dentistry Association provides resources, continuing education, and product information for dental practitioners who want to integrate more earth-friendly methods. The EDA GreenDOC Program offers dental offices the chance to be EDA-Certified as achieving the highest standards of green dental practice.
Going green in the dental office is not only the healthy choice for your patients and the planet, a recent third-party study commissioned by the EDA showed that it is good for the bottom line - to the tune of up to $50,000 a year!
Posted by Susan Beck | July 13, 2009 11:44 AM
Posted on July 13, 2009 11:44