Sustainability interventions in nursing wards
General resources
Paper medication cup
Medication is often administered several times a day in plastic cups, which generates a large amount of waste. Paper medication cups suitable for liquids (containing less than 5% plastic) offer a more sustainable alternative. In some cases, however, a plastic cup remains necessary, for example when crushing medication.
Intervention
Replace disposable plastic medicine cups with paper medicine cups.
Exclusion: Paper medicine cups are not suitable for grinding medication.
Implementation approach
- Look at the implementation approach for a (reusable) product.
- The presence of plastic medication cups can influence behaviour.In the implementation plan, describe where the paper cups will be placed. It may be helpful to store the plastic cups elsewhere, for example next to the medication crusher, with a label stating “for crushed tablets only.”
- Consult the step-by-step guide for more information on setting objectives, implementation and evaluation.
Environmental impact
Measured in CO2-emissions due to less environmentally harmful material in medicine cups. Want to know more about the environmental impact? See the bottom of this page for more information.
Current situation
1 plastic 30 ml medicine cup = 0.0112 kg CO2-eq
New situation
1 paper 30 ml medicine cup = 0.0015 kg CO2-eq
-87% CO2
It is best to dispose of paper medicine cups with residual waste.
Save 1,000 medicine cups made of paper instead of plastic
9.7
kg CO2-eq
and is equivalent to driving 50 km
kg CO2-eq
When is it implemented?
This intervention is considered implemented when nursing units in the hospital use paper medication cups, except where this is not possible, and the difference in CO₂-equivalent (kg) has been calculated.
How is this measured?
The environmental impact of this intervention can be determined using purchasing data on the number of medication cups, see Measuring an intervention using purchasing data. Use the purchasing data for both plastic and paper cups.
Note: Other interventions may influence the results of this one. If the Reducing medication cup use intervention is implemented at the same time, it may affect the purchasing data. Implement the Reducing medication cup use intervention at a different time to measure the effect accurately.
Resources
Click here for an example of a paper medication cup containing less than 5% plastic and with millilitre measurements.
There are no inspirational resources available yet. Has your hospital already implemented this intervention and would you like to share your experience? Please contact the Together for greener healthcare programme.
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.
ADL
Reducing absorbent mat use
Disposable absorbent 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, absorbent mats have a significant environmental impact1.
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.
