"Bring your own" reusables to surgery: an environmental sustainability quality-improvement initiative.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Operating rooms (ORs) produce more than 30% of a hospital's total waste, with plastic accounting for 20% of that waste. Our project aimed to reduce OR plastic waste by encouraging patients at London Health Sciences Centre sites to bring reusable bags for their belongings and reusable water bottles.

Methods

We used the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) quality-improvement method, conducting 3 PDSA cycles, first at Nazem Kadri Surgical Centre, and then at Victoria Hospital and University Hospital. Educational interventions informed staff and encouraged patients to bring their own reusable items. Outcome measures included environmental carbon footprint savings, waste savings, and cost savings over a 1-year period. Process measures included the percentage of patients who broug

SUBMITTER: Brar SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12747151 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature