N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 5
GOING GREEN
Hanging Recycling Bags Saves Space
A
re you sure your staff is
diverting recyclable mate-
rials from white bag
waste? For 2 weeks I gathered and
weighed recycling bags filled dur-
ing procedures, and analyzed the
contents to determine if all of the
items in the bags were recyclable.
I discovered staff was contaminat-
ing nearly 50% of the recycling
materials with trash, leading to
600 pounds of recycling unneces-
sarily going to the landfill. Our sur-
gical team said they wanted to
recycle items, but there wasn't
enough space in the smallish ORs
of our older hospital for recycling bins. That's when I decided to hang
blue recycling bags from white hooks attached to the wall and pre-
sented the idea at a staff meeting. Members of the surgical team
bought into the concept and began to find creative ways — tying the
bags to suction cords or trash containers — to hang the bags to free
up floor space. I took pictures of where their hanging spots and
emailed them to the rest of the team. After a few months, I again col-
lected the recycling bags filled during procedures and discovered we
only contaminated 2% of items that should be recycled.
Barbara Bevan-Abel, RN
University of California San Francisco (Calif.) Medical Center
barbara.bevan-abel@ucsf.edu
• HANGING AROUND Barbara Bevan-Abel, RN, made it a mis-
sion to provide a convenient, space-saving recycling option.
Barbara
Bevan-Abel,
RN
