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 Together for greener healthcare 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 this is 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
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View our other interventions
Monitoring parameters
Reducing blood testing
Blood tests are an essential part of patient care, but they also generate waste and take time. Nurses play an important role at the start of this process and, together with physicians and nurse specialists, can explore ways to reduce the number of blood tests performed.
Nursing interventions
Replacing IV lines every seven days
IV lines, the part of the infusion system that remains outside the body and connects to the intravenous catheter, are currently replaced every four days to prevent infections. Research shows that replacing IV systems every seven days does not increase the risk of infection. This saves materials and time for nurses.
ADL
Reducing the use of cellulose mats
Disposable cellulose mats are designed to absorb large amounts of body fluids from patients. In practice, they are also used for other purposes, such as wiping up spilled liquids on the floor. In many cases, a towel or collection tray will suffice. Because of their high consumption in hospitals, cellulose mats have a significant environmental impact1.
