Reducing Waste In Ophthalmology: A Practical Approach And Pilot Study

Healthcare waste management is a globally challenging issue with an increased prevalence of disposable, single-use materials in developed countries and a rapidly ageing population continuing to drive an increase in the use of medical resources. This pilot study sought to sort waste generated from intravitreal injections to see if there could be a meaningful reduction in waste going to landfill. 

Two separate Ophthalmology units within South Australia.

A prospective controlled cohort study was performed over 5 weeks in 2021 during which two sites were selected to compare different approaches to sorting the waste generated by intravitreal injections. At Site A all waste associated with these injections was placed in standard hospital waste bins. Site B was the intervention arm where a real-time sorting of waste occurred. The number of injections given and waste amounts were recorded.

116 and 286 injections were given at Sites A and B, respectively over the study period. Site A generated an average of 470.7 g of waste per injection compared with 175.1 g at our intervention site. This represents a 62.8% reduction (p < 0.001). At Site B, where waste was sorted, a total of 50.1 kg of medical waste was generated from these injections during the study period of which 33.8 kg (67.5%) was salvageable. Salvagable waste was either recycled or repurposed as a fuel alternative.

This is the first quantification of the medical waste associated with intravitreal injections, a burgeoning treatment for macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy among other conditions. This study demonstrates a significant reduction in the amount of medical waste produced using an easily implementable real-world methodology. These results and methods can be utilised elsewhere in cataract and refractive surgery as a practical means to reduce waste.