Skip to content
Menu
Green Theatres Network
  • About
  • Green Theatres
    • Recycling Streams in Theatre
    • Greening Surgical Care
    • Guide: Setting up a Green Theatres Group.
    • Where does the Green Theatre Network Fit in?
    • Ditching Desflurane
  • KN2OW Nitrous
    • Overview
    • Kn2oW Nitrous Steps
    • Nitrous Oxide Clinical Use Audit
    • N2O Clinical Use Generic Survey
    • Anaesthetic Machine Reported Nitrous Usage
    • Leaks
    • Nitrous Oxide Pipeline Test Protocol
  • Latest Posts
  • Links and Resources
Green Theatres Network

Recycling Streams in Theatre

Posted on October 18, 2021

Operating theatres produce 20-33% of total hospital waste, including up to 60% of the hospitals’ regulated medical waste. Ensuring we reduce, reuse and recycle where possible can have a substantial impact on costs ($ and eCO2) and waste.

An example of streams that are easy to recycle in a tertiary hospital is available on the below poster from Fiona Stanley Hospital in Western Australia.

Recycling is cost effective

Much waste generated in healthcare facilities can be recycled at a substantially lower cost compared to clinical waste or general waste. Some indicative numbers from circa 2018 compare various waste streams. Note that the default in some organisations is for all clinical waste to end up as medical (infectious) waste, which is expensive and can be incinerated, generating further emissions.

2018 costs per tonne2021 costs per tonne
Medical waste$1410$2600
Diathermy pens, Surgical single use metal instruments, laparoscopes, contaminated hard plastics$990$1200
Syringe recycling$N.A$1200
General waste$182$225
Co-mingled recycling$40$75
PVC recycling and Huck towels$0$0
Sterile wrap (Kimguard)??
Comparison of indicative costs for waste disposal based on 2018 data and 2021 data from 2 different suppliers

eWaste is also another key element – social enterprise “Pony Up for Good” is used by health services in Australia to securely erase data and recycle/reuse devices.

Example Recycling Posters

Fiona Stanley Hospital Syringe Recycling Poster
Co-mingled Recycling Poster from Fiona Stanley Hospital

3 thoughts on “Recycling Streams in Theatre”

  1. Ellen Fitzgerald says:
    March 29, 2022 at 9:43 am

    Hi there, just after some suggestions I currently work at Busselton Theatres as a Anaesthetic Tech.
    Just hoping to get rid of Pentothal Trays and just offering paper mache kidney dishes or just using Anaestheis trolley and cleaning after each case with Clinelle wipes most of our Anaesthetists are on board but some are wondering about sterility of end of syringe if not capped I did suggest a small plastic when opened up cut down side so you get about 6 uses just using top layer but then I thought Im just replacing plastic for plastic .So any thoughts for what the Anaesthetists can use.

    1. Ellen Fitzgerald says:
      March 29, 2022 at 9:45 am

      Hi there, just after some suggestions I currently work at Busselton Theatres as a Anaesthetic Tech.
      Just hoping to get rid of Pentothal Trays and just offering paper mache kidney dishes or just using Anaestheis trolley and cleaning after each case with Clinelle wipes most of our Anaesthetists are on board but some are wondering about sterility of end of syringe if not capped I did suggest a small plastic when opened up cut down side so you get about 6 uses just using top layer but then I thought Im just replacing plastic for plastic .So any thoughts for what the Anaesthetists can use.

      Reply
      Reply to Ellen Fitzgerald

      1. admin says:
        March 29, 2022 at 1:46 pm

        Hi Ellen, thanks for reaching out. At Fiona Stanley we use hard plastic kidney dishes, which we reuse (cleaning with oxivir wipes, similar to clinelle I believe). The party line is that the kidney dishes are clean but not sterile, so syringe tips should be capped with a needle or cap or vial or something! Sterile plastic sheets are available and are used by some anaesthetists but the point is made that we plonk vials and other ‘things’ on the sterile sheet, which renders it no-longer sterile, so why not just use the top of the trolley and wipe it down between cases. Good luck. I’ve also replied to this post on the WA Health Green THeatres network Teams Group for ongoing banter. Cheers, James

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

  • Recordings for GTN WA meeting online
  • Pearls from CAHA Forum 2023 Sustainability in Practice session
  • GTN Statewide Meeting August 2nd 2023
  • Ditching Desflurane
  • Nitrous Oxide Clinical Use Audit

Green Theatres Network WA Follow

Environmental sustainability for perioperative services across WA. https://t.co/wxD5hUoRKi #ditchthedes #reducereuserecycle

WAGreenTheatres
Retweet on Twitter Green Theatres Network WA Retweeted
archiecurium Dr Archie 🌱🌈 YES23 @archiecurium ·
14 Sep

Dear Aussie anaesthetic colleagues - @WAGreenTheatres team needs your input please on use of nitrous oxide. Takes 2min and will help us a lot.
Thank you!

Reply on Twitter 1702176020328276195 Retweet on Twitter 1702176020328276195 4 Like on Twitter 1702176020328276195 5 Twitter 1702176020328276195
Retweet on Twitter Green Theatres Network WA Retweeted
healthy_climate Climate and Health Alliance @healthy_climate ·
14 Sep

#GreenHealthForum23

Any clinicians who use nitrous dioxide -- please take this 2 minute survey to help us understand how you use it at work! 👉 https://forms.office.com/r/GrMxTGZdKy

Reply on Twitter 1702161908500148264 Retweet on Twitter 1702161908500148264 9 Like on Twitter 1702161908500148264 5 Twitter 1702161908500148264
wagreentheatres Green Theatres Network WA @wagreentheatres ·
14 Sep

Australian anaesthetists, get involved with sustainability data collection on nitrous oxide. 2 minute survey, please complete it!

Reply on Twitter 1702171388977823995 Retweet on Twitter 1702171388977823995 6 Like on Twitter 1702171388977823995 7 Twitter 1702171388977823995
Retweet on Twitter Green Theatres Network WA Retweeted
archiecurium Dr Archie 🌱🌈 YES23 @archiecurium ·
13 Sep

Apropos of nothing
There are plenty of reasons to stop using desflurane.

One of them is environmental harm.
A little bit is still >0
Plenty of other ways to give a safe anaesthetic with less impact and no worse outcomes

@GreeningDoc

https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/fulltext/2020/10000/desflurane_should_des_appear__global_and_financial.43.aspx Meyer 2020

Reply on Twitter 1701971186622558416 Retweet on Twitter 1701971186622558416 5 Like on Twitter 1701971186622558416 13 Twitter 1701971186622558416
Load More
©2023 Green Theatres Network | WordPress Theme: EcoCoded