Sustainability interventions in nursing wards
ADL
Recycling incontinence materials
Incontinence materials are used for various patient groups in hospitals. By processing incontinence materials as a separate waste stream, resources can be recovered and reused.
Intervention
Separate collection and recycling of incontinence materials.
Exclusion: Incontinence materials with traces of cytostatics.
Environmental impact
Measured in CO₂ emissions, based on waste separation and recovery of raw materials from incontinence materials.
Implementation approach
- Due to limited capacity at the current Is waste-to-energy plant that recycles incontinence materials, no new contracts can be established at this time. If your hospital is interested in this intervention, please inform the Greening healthcare together programme team.
- Beforehand, assess how many kilograms of incontinence material your hospital would like to offer for recycling. Once the total demand from hospitals is clear, the programme team can explore whether scaling up is possible.
When is it implemented?
This intervention is considered implemented when incontinence material in the hospital is separately collected for recycling, and the difference in CO₂-equivalent (kg) has been calculated.
How is this measured?
Determine the number of kilograms of incontinence material that is separately collected for recycling using waste management data and fill in the environmental impact calculation tool*.
Resources
Click here for more information about the recycling process.
Click here for an example from Sophia Children's Hospital where incontinence material is separately collected for recycling.
Click here for an example from the UK, where a separate collection method for incontinence material was introduced on a pediatric ward.
Footnotes
*The environmental impact calculation tool follows
Resultaten
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View our other interventions
Verpleegkundig handelen
Non-sterile bladder catheter insertion
Since July 2024, bladder catheterisation may be performed using the new ‘no-touch technique’. In this method, non-sterile gloves are used, and the genital area is cleaned with tap water. This more sustainable approach requires fewer sterile materials and saves time, as the procedure can be performed by a single nurse. With this intervention, nurses put the new guideline into practice.
Nursing practice
Reducing maintenance IV flow rate
A maintenance IV with NaCl 0.9% at a flow rate of 5 ml/hour is often used to keep the IV line open for patients not receiving intravenous medication. Reducing the pump rate to 2 ml/hour lowers NaCl 0.9% use, allowing for smaller infusion bags or less frequent bag replacement. This is more sustainable and reduces material consumption.
Nursing practice
Using the same infusion sets on every ward
When hospital departments use different IV systems, IV lines may need to be replaced when a patient is transferred because the systems are not compatible. This leads to unnecessary waste, takes additional time, and can cause discomfort for the patient. A single, standardised IV system prevents this.
Monitoring parameters
Reusable transport bag for laboratory samples
Nurses collect various samples for diagnostic testing. For transport to the laboratory, different single-use containers such as cups, bags, or kidney trays are currently used and then discarded. A reusable transport container is a more sustainable alternative.
