Operating room waste reduction in plastic and hand surgery

BACKGROUND: Operating rooms (ORs), combined with labour and delivery suites, account for approximately 70% of hospital waste. Previous studies have reported that recycling can have a considerable financial impact on a hospital-wide basis; however, its importance in the OR has not been demonstrated. OBJECTIVE: To propose a method of decreasing cost through judicious selection of instruments and supplies, and initiation of recycling in plastic and hand surgery. METHODS: The authors identified disposable supplies and instruments that are routinely opened and wasted in common plastic and hand surgery procedures, and calculated the savings that can result from eliminating extraneous items. A cost analysis was performed, which compared the expense of OR waste versus single-stream recycling and the benefit of recycling HIPAA documents and blue wrap. RESULTS: Fifteen total items were removed from disposable plastic packs and seven total items from hand packs. A total of US$17,381.05 could be saved per year from these changes alone. Since initiating single-stream recycling, the authors' institution has saved, on average, US$3,487 per month at the three campuses. After extrapolating at the current savings rate, one would expect to save a minimum of US$41,844 per year. Discusion: OR waste reduction is an effective method of decreasing cost in the surgical setting. By revising the contents of current disposable packs and instrument sets designated for plastic and hand surgery, hospitals can reduce the amount of opened and unused material. CONCLUSIONS: Significant financial savings and environmental benefit can result from this judicious supply and instrument selection, as well as implementation of recycling.