The sustainable hospital: Waste reduction best practice tip

Looking at the numbers

Take the example of a typical mid-sized hospital in Germany where 10,610 annual surgeries are performed with an average of 3 sterilization sets per surgery:
 

• When single-use wrap is used for instrument sterilization 3,310 kg of polypropylene waste is generated each year.
• By contrast, when reusable rigid sterile containers are used, the total annual waste quantity is just 149 kg – less than 5 percent of the waste quantity coming from single-use wrap. And two thirds of this 149 kg figure consists of paper filters, with a mere 46 kg of plastic waste being generated from the container locks over a whole year of sterilization activity.

Reduced waste, plus reduced costs

A strong argument can be made for such a switchover simply on the basis of its positive effects in connection with waste generation. But strikingly, the benefits of the rigid sterile container sterilization method also extend to costs.

Following the initial investment in new equipment for the rigid sterile container process, hospitals actually save money in their ongoing processing of sterile equipment for the OR.

• In a US-based calculation, it has been estimated that a conversion to rigid sterile containers can save a medium size hospital up to $20K annually in disposable operating expenses and more than 150 hours in processing time. ^[2]
• Similarly, a Germany-based study found that use of a sterilization container without an inner wrap was the most cost-effective option for processing of sterile equipment – with a per-use cost of €2.05 set sterilization as compared to €3.87 per set sterilization for two layers of single-use sterilization wrap. ^[3]
   

With a cost-benefit profile like this, it’s no surprise that more and more hospitals are taking the waste-reduction step of moving from single-use sterilization wrap to reusable rigid sterile containers.