Coming round to recycling

Description
David C J Hutchins, medical student, Stuart M White, consultant in anaesthesia. BMJ 2009. Both the UK government and the British Medical Association have recently published strategies for "greener" health care.1 2 An audit of anaesthetic waste at our hospital found that about 40% of all waste (roughly 950 kg/theatre/year) was potentially recyclable paper, card, plastic, and glass, and only 4% by weight of sharps bin contents was true sharp waste. Although recycling has potential environmental and financial benefits, it is hampered by convenience, technology, lack of knowledge, concerns about environmental safety, and statutory regulation. We discuss how clinicians might cut the amount of waste they produce by reducing, reusing, and recycling resources and suggest ideas for future research.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1136/bmj.b609

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