Showcasing our Pause the Plastic champions

From recycling oxygen masks to injecting new life into used syringes, country health teams have stepped up for our Pause the Plastic campaign.

Our teams right across country WA, including the Albany Health Campus Theatres team, have been working hard to reduce the hospital’s environmental footprint. 

Led by Registered Nurse Ailsa Lance and Clinical Nurse Surgical Services Josh Sullivan, the team has initiated key actions including:

• Introducing co-mingle recycling for bottles and packaging
• Implementing a PVC recycling stream for clean IV bags and oxygen masks
• Reducing the use of ‘bluey’ absorbent mats through more mindful practice
• Establishing battery recycling collection points.

“Recognising the volume of plastic waste generated daily, the Theatre 10 project was initiated,” Ailsa said.

“This targeted plastic reduction and recycling project aims to find simple, practical solutions that fit seamlessly into busy theatre routines.”

The initiative coincided with a general waste audit conducted in partnership with contractor Cleanaway, which revealed co-mingle recyclables made up a significant proportion of the theatre’s general waste stream.

Using these findings, the team identified a list of priority waste items to address.

“Through these initiatives, we’ve diverted an estimated 3000kg of waste from landfill over the year, engaging approximately 50 staff members in the process,” Ailsa said.

“This has helped raise awareness of the environmental impact of theatre waste and built stronger ownership of waste reduction efforts among staff.”

Ailsa said the team was exploring further opportunities to reduce the use of single-use plastics and packaging including hand surgery packs, pressure cuffs, gloves, and disposable curtains.

“This project illustrates how staff-led, practical initiatives — supported by data, partnerships, and education / behaviour change workshops — can deliver real environmental benefits and align with broader sustainability goals across WA Country Health Service,” she added.

Then there’s the Bunbury Regional Hospital Emergency Department team, who, with Registered Nurse Rachel Harrison at the helm, have launched a variety of initiatives including:

• Recycling plastic syringes
• Recycling single use metal instruments
• IV Baxter bag recycling – ensuring correct removal of insert ports to enable recycling of products
• O2 tubing/O2 mask recycling – ensuring correct removal of metal nose clips and elastic to enable recycling.

If that wasn’t enough, the Bunbury team is in talks with the hospital’s waste management contractor and the product manufacturer to begin recycling used IV bottles and the plastic trays they come in.

They’re also looking into the possibility of switching to full paper pill cups with no plastic lining.

“Over the past four years, the recycling program has been enthusiastically embraced by all our colleagues,” Rachel said.

These are just a couple of the inspiring plastic-busting initiatives being led by our amazing staff throughout country WA.