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The health care industry is responsible for 

 of the United States’ carbon emissions, according to Yale researchers. 

One part of that is medical waste — a lot of the waste produced by hospitals has to be incinerated. That emits more carbon dioxide per megawatt hour than coal power plants, said Toya Lopez of 

Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate

. She is also an administrative fellow at 

An even bigger source of emissions, Lopez said, is the manufacturing and shipping of supplies.

, as testing and safety protocols call for more single-use materials.

But health care organizations across the country are implementing recycling and reuse programs to tackle the problem. Many health care professionals are also calling on suppliers to green their manufacturing and shipping processes. 

Lopez joined MPR chief meteorologist and Climate Cast host Paul Huttner on Climate Cast. You can hear their conversation by clicking play on the audio player above.

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A lot of waste produced by hospitals has to be burned. The incinerators used to do that emit more carbon dioxide per megawatt hour than coal power plants.

Medical waste is a big environmental problem — and getting bigger with COVID-19

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