Waste Management Strategies in the Operating Room of Thoracic Surgery: Optimizing Sustainability and Efficiency

Background Health care facilities are a major source of global pollution and play a significant role in environmental change. Among them, Operating rooms (ORs) are particularly impactful, accounting for over 30% of a hospital’s total waste. This project aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of waste management practices in surgical settings, with a particular focus on the environmental impact of waste disposal pathways in operating rooms and possible improvements on recycling.

Methods & Materials We propose to examine existing waste pathways through direct observation conducted in operating rooms during thoracic surgeries in university clinics. We aim to identify opportunities for waste reduction and recycling at three study locations. We categorized all the waste into three distinct groups: Preoperative waste, Surgery-related waste, Biohazardous waste. Waste was collected from 10 thoracic surgeries, systematically separated into the three categories and weighed postoperatively.

Results <strong>3. </strong>After collecting waste from 30 thoracic surgeries, we measured the total weigh of all types of waste generated, including:

<strong>3.1 Preoperational waste: </strong>A total of 1460g waste per use case was generated by the anesthesiologist circulating nurse preparation of operation.

<strong>3.2 Surgery-related waste: </strong>Recyclable waste including paper and plastic, is often mistakenly classified as biohazardous, resulting in the average generation of 1202g of waste.

<strong>3.3 Biohazardous waste: </strong>A total of 6164g waste was assumed to have come into contacted with the patient and pose potential health risks.

Conclusion Operating room staff play a crucial role in advancing sustainability in healthcare. We speculate the amount of recyclable waste influence by several factors, including the type of operation performed, the placement of recyclable bins in the operating room, the complexity of surgery, and the daily surgical schedule. Investments in training and awareness programs maybe necessary to enhance staff engagement in proper waste segregation. By systematically analyzing the composition and distribution of preoperational waste, surgery-related waste, biohazardous waste, this study generated valuable data to inform sustainability strategies and waste management policies in hospital settings. Ultimately, these findings will contribute to both environmental sustainability and improved patient outcomes.

Publication History

Article published online:
25 August 2025