Greening Healthcare

Our Environmental Health Project has organized a broad coalition of activists and 35 diverse organizations to advance the connection between toxic pollution and human health. Major victories include forcing the State of Michigan to toughen its fish consumption advisories in 1998, and pressuring major Michigan retailers and manufactures to phase out the use of toxic phthalates in PVC toys. We also serve as Michigan's leading resource for grassroots community groups fighting polluting facilities, toxic waste dumps, incinerators, and contamination sites. Almost all of these struggles occur in communities of color and low-income communities, and have served as a backdrop for the national fight over the EPA Title VI Guidance on Environmental Justice.

Our Medical Waste Campaign has stopped the siting of new medical waste incinerators, and is working with several Michigan hospitals and community groups to convert existing incinerators to safer technology. We currently participate in a unique partnership with the Michigan Health and Hospitals Association, designed to promote alternative waste handling practices among the Association's member hospitals.