Hospitals could massively reduce their rubbish output and climate impact through some fairly simple steps in reducing their waste stream, University of Melbourne researchers have found.
Ludmilla Pillay, Kenneth Winkel and Timothy Kariotis report that the Australian health system creates 7% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and operating rooms are particularly resource-intense, generating at least 20% of hospital waste.
The researchers found that both rubbish and climate impact could be reduced by avoiding high carbon products, improving recycling and separating waste more effectively.
The team found a number of barriers to change, including surgeon concern that alternative approaches could risk patient care, gaps in understanding how to deal with waste, shortcomings in policies and delays in seeing financial benefit.
The paper will be of interest to policy makers, noting that surgeons needed to understand that the biggest health threat facing humanity is climate change.
