title: Segregation for reduction of regulated medical waste in the operating room: a case report.
abstract: One-third of all hospital-regulated medical waste (RMW) comes from the operating room (OR), and it considerably consists of disposable packaging and wrapping materials for the sterilization of surgical instruments. This study sought to identify the amount and type of waste produced by ORs in order to reduce the RMW so as to achieve environmentally-friendly waste management in the OR. We performed an initial waste segregation of 4 total knee replacement arthroplasties (TKRAs) and 1 total hip replacement arthroplasty, and later of 1 extra TKRA, 1 laparoscopic anterior resection of the colon, and 1 pelviscopy (with radical vaginal hysterectomy), performed at our OR. The total mass of non-regulated medical waste (non-RMW) and blue wrap amounted to 30.5 kg (24.9%), and that of RMW to 92.1 kg (75.1%). In the course of the study, we noted that the non-RMW included recyclables, such as papers, plastics, cardboards, and various wrapping materials. The study showed that a reduction in RMW generation can be achieved through the systematic segregation of OR waste.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Helen Ki
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Shinn
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Youngyoen
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6054-0792
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Gun
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Chunwoo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: WonJu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Na
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jang-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Kyoung
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2694-1258
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Lim
keywords: Non–regulated medical waste; Recycling; Regulated medical waste; Segregation; Waste management