Auditing Operating Room Recycling

Abstract

Much waste arises from operating rooms (ORs). We estimated the practical and financial feasibility of an OR recycling program, weighing all waste from 6 ORs in Melbourne, Australia. Over 1 week, 237 operations produced 1265 kg in total: general waste 570 kg (45%), infectious waste 410 kg (32%), and recyclables 285 kg (23%). The achieved recycling had no infectious contamination. The achieved recycling/potential recycling rate was 285 kg/517 kg (55%). The average waste disposal costs were similar for general waste and recycling. OR recycling rates of 20%-25% total waste were achievable without compromising infection control or financial constraints.

Segregation for reduction of regulated medical waste in the operating room: a case report

“…Finding appropriate recycling companies, particularly in regional areas where they are lacking, can be very challenging [ 10 ]. One solution may be to encourage medical device manufacturers interested in environmental issues to reduce the amount of packaging used or to change the materials used in order to reduce medical waste in a systemic way.…”

Environmental sustainability in anaesthesia and critical care

“…If avoiding, reducing, and reusing are impossible, then recycling should be considered. 111 Approximately one-quarter of OR 117 and 15% of critical care 118 waste can be recycled. Recycling 11 tonnes of plastics, paper, etc.…”

A national survey on attitudes and barriers on recycling and environmental sustainability efforts among Canadian anesthesiologists: an opportunity for knowledge translation

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that, at least in Australia, OR recycling programs are feasible, divert waste from landfills, and improve worker satisfaction without causing delays in the OR. 5,13 Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that, because healthcare waste and recycling streams must undergo more thorough and energy-intensive disinfection processes than household waste, other methods of waste management, such as prevention, reduction, and reuse should also be maximized whenever possible and further investigations of the feasibility of these methods in the OR are required. 14 Our findings demonstrate that, in addition to recycling, Canadian anesthesiologists engage in a variety of evidence-based environmental sustainability efforts including evening shut-off of anesthesia machines and other equipment in the OR, appropriate segregation of biohazardous and nonhazardous waste, and choosing anesthetic gases on the basis of their environmental Other 43 (21.5) 29 (7.4) impact.…”

“…The questionnaire consisted of 25 multiple-choice, Likert scale, and free-text items assessing demographics (questions 1-6); value placed on environmental sustainability and prior education on this topic (questions 7-10); environmental sustainability efforts within anesthesia and barriers to these efforts (questions [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]; personal and departmental plans regarding sustainability (questions 21-24); and a general feedback question (question 25). Questions 11-13, 18-19, and 21 were adapted from McGain et al 10 to allow comparisons between this study and previously identified evidence (Appendix).…”

“…Some respondents raised the question of disease transmission and patient safety of environmental practices. Previous studies revealed a lack of awareness of simple strategies such as appropriate waste segregation among anesthesiologists, 11,13 and suggested that anesthesiologists must collaborate with hospital infection control teams to ensure rigorous quality control of reprocessing and recycling processes to avoid complications that might jeopardize patient safety and undermine waste-management initiatives. [24][25][26] Furthermore, difficulties encountered with recycling and reprocessing underscore the importance of reduction strategies, such as collaborating with industry to reduce packaging included with each product and continuing materials science research that might yield biodegradable alternatives to commonly used products.…”