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A Nurse-Led Quality Improvement Project to Examine the Impact of Reduced Plastic Medical Waste Recycling in Health Care Settings
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Hospitals throw away tons of single-use plastic items every year, and since 2018 they've been recycling less of it—most now ends up in landfills or gets burned, which can release toxic pollution linked to millions of deaths worldwide. This survey-based project found that nurses are eager to help fix the problem and should be included in decisions about hospital waste, since better recycling policies could mean cleaner air for everyone.
Background: U.S. health care facilities dispose of over 5 billion tons of waste per year, the majority of which is plastic medical waste (PMW). Recycling efforts for plastic waste slowed dramatically after 2018 in response to global events. PMW disposed of in landfill or incineration can emit toxic emissions, causing air pollution and over 5 million deaths globally. Objective: This quality improvement project aimed to understand current efforts in recycling plastic-based items from U.S. health care facilities. Method: A survey was completed through Practice Greenhealth by Greening the Operating Room members. Results: There was an increased purchase and use of plastic-based single-use-only medical items since 2018 by health care facilities across the United States. A considerable amount of PMW is disposed of in landfill. Conclusion: Findings demonstrated significant interest in circular economy and standardization of PMW disposal from a legislative perspective. Implications for Nursing: Nurses were identified as key advocates in waste reduction efforts and should be included as partners with health care leaders in discussions for PMW recycling efforts that ensure public health.
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A study of nursing students in India found that even though most knew plastic pollution can harm human health (like raising risks for breathing problems and cancer) and the environment, over a third still used single-use plastics daily anyway, mostly because it's convenient. This gap between knowing and doing matters because it shows that just understanding the risks isn't enough to change habits — even among future healthcare workers who will one day teach others about health risks like plastic and microplastic exposure.
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