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It’s estimated that hospitals produce more than 5 million tons of waste each year, according to Practice Greenhealth. The handling of medical waste disposal is a cumbersome and expensive issue for many healthcare facilities, who own their waste stream from cradle to grave.
To add further complexity, healthcare organizations face growing pressure to adopt more sustainable practices and decrease their carbon footprint.
WasteMedX, an eco-friendly medical waste disposal company within the CQuence Health portfolio, was created to tackle the issues of medical waste disposal and sustainability head-on.
Efficiency & Sustainability That Helps You Save Green As You Go Green
With experience in hospital ownership and construction, WasteMedX was founded by Tim and Tom Miller, who realized how inefficient most hospitals’ waste disposal processes truly were.
“I saw the issues with treating regulated medical waste from various standpoints, including liability, cost and management,” said Tim Miller, CEO of WasteMedX. “Our solution is a niche for hospitals who are looking to save money while prioritizing sustainability.”
In 2016, the Miller brothers learned about a unique sterilization process using ozone-based treatment. They founded their eco-friendly company on the belief that hospital waste treatment and disposal could be more efficient, less costly and help hospitals achieve their sustainability goals.
WasteMedX’s technology reduces the volume of medical waste by approximately 90% and sterilizes shredded waste using ozone treatment technology. Ozone systems are designed to be energy-efficient at every step of the waste disposal process.
With the push of a button, waste is weighed, shredded, sterilized and transferred to a disposal container. The company’s full-service pickup and transportation further ensures the prompt, safe removal of medical waste.
Benefits include reduced cost, cleaner waste processes, faster processes and easy electronic waste tracking.
All told, WasteMedX can help hospitals reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50%. This is an enormous benefit to hospitals facing increased scrutiny to prioritize environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.
“Sustainability is critical to hospitals,” said Tim. “Hospitals generate about 10% of all the waste in the United States. Starting January of 2026, they have to report to the federal government what they're doing to reduce greenhouse gas emission and carbon footprint.”
Traditional waste disposal methods like autoclaving and incineration use large amounts of power and leave behind residue or secondary pollutants. Ozone treatment operates at or near ambient temperatures, significantly lowering energy consumption, and produces no harmful emissions.
It’s a win-win for healthcare organizations like LMH Health that are looking to reach their sustainability goals faster. Located in in Lawrence, Kansas, LMH is among the first health systems in the country to install WasteMedX’s Vortex waste treatment system. The system came online at LMH’s main hospital in August 2024.
“Sustainability here is very important,” said Bill Churchwell, director of Environmental Services at LMH Health. “We have a lot of waste that comes into a hospital. The best thing I like about this machine is we have control over our waste. We know that all of our HIPAA documents are being shredded. We know that all of our waste is being processed and sanitized, and we know where it’s going. It’s good for the hospital and it’s good for the environment.”
A Green Future
Armed with a disruptive technology amid advancing sustainability initiatives and regulatory requirements, the future looks bright for WasteMedX.
“We think we have something exciting that we can go out to market with,” said Tim. “The sustainability side of it makes us really unique. It’s a fun business to be in and I’m glad we have great partners with CQuence.”
In addition to investing, CQuence Health has provided WasteMedX with a variety of professional services, including marketing, IT, HR and accounting, allowing the company to focus on ramping up its growth. CQuence has also provided strategic guidance to advise on business decisions as WasteMedX continues to scale.
With the potential to expand quickly, WasteMedX remains dedicated to advising hospitals and health systems on how to meet their sustainability goals while driving down costs, creating a healthier future for patients and staff.
To learn more about WasteMedX and how their system helps healthcare industry providers cut costs, lower emissions, reduce waste and mitigate safety hazards, visit their website at www.wastemedx.com.
About WasteMedX
WasteMedX helps hospitals heal the planet as well as patients. They do this through an eco-friendly waste treatment and disposal process that minimizes pollutants and reduces costs. This ozone treatment technology provides safe, efficient application of an ozone compound to all types of medical waste, reducing its volume up to 90%. The reactivity of the ozone compound destroys bacteria on contact and, with the push of a button, waste is weighed, shredded, sterilized and transferred to a disposal container.
Founded in Indiana in 2016 on the belief that hospital waste treatment and disposal could be more efficient, less costly and help hospitals achieve their sustainability goals, WasteMedX is revolutionizing waste disposal processes around the country.
