A surgeon aware of the enormous amount of waste generated in operating rooms is behind an effort to drastically reduce this waste by encouraging the establishment of recycling programs. 

Dr. Juliana Hansen noticed as far back as 2000 the large amounts of waste -- mainly plastic packaging material used for instruments, sutures and gauze -- in operating rooms.

Nurses at Hansen's hospital, Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, have been prepping ORs with recycling bins so that operating supply discards can be disposed of in an environmentally conscious manner. The effort is paying off at OHSU and this, along with other green measures, could serve as a model for other hospitals. 

"It's fantastic what can be done," Hansen said in a press release from the American College of Surgeons. "You realize there are ways we can do our part in the OR without creating an environment of wastefulness."

Beyond recycling, OHSU’s operating rooms have been retrofitted with energy-efficient LED lighting, in addition to low-mercury lamps. These new features save the hospital 340,000 kilowatt hours at an average cost of $40,000 every year.

All operating rooms are also using greener cleaning products and limiting use of cleaning chemicals. These efforts safeguard local waterways from increased chemicals and pollution.

According to sustainability figures presented by Hansen to the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, OHSU's operating room staff recycled approximately 300 pounds of paper and plastic products every day from the hospital's 21 operating rooms. In 2007, OHSU recycled approximately 1,100 tons of solid waste, saving OHSU more than $85,000 in waste collection and management costs.

Success in the operating room has spread across the hospital and, as a result, more sustainable practices are taking shape. A Green Team was established by the maintenance department and is finding ways to achieve further cost reductions. The hospital has also received the first platinum ranking from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for its new green building.

The Portland Aerial Tram, meanwhile, now connects the hospital’s campuses, allowing employees to eliminate a 15-minute drive between campuses and save greenhouse gases and other air pollutants, fuel and time. The tram is estimated to save employees 2 million vehicle miles annually, equal to 93,000 gallons of gas.

And finally, the hospital also participates in purchasing environmental credits that support solar and wind power as well as restoration activities within local and important watersheds.