title: Leading on waste reduction.
abstract: Waste in the NHS is estimated to account for 20% of health expenditure. This article examines the literature on reducing waste, analyses some approaches to waste reduction, and identifies the role that nurses and other health professionals can play in developing a sustainable NHS. To inform nursing practice, the definition of, and discussion about, waste includes clinical waste, waste arising out of clinical practice, service delivery and care, infrastructure, and carbon emissions.