{
  "abstract": "Introduction and Objectives Royal Devon University Healthcare (RDUH) NHS Foundation Trust plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 80% by 2030, achieving net zero by 2040. Our respiratory team aims to help by decreasing the impact of our elective pleural procedural work at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital site through improved uptake of recycling. The majority of equipment for pleural procedures is single use, packaged using plastic and paper, with kits including recyclable items that are often unused. We aim to extrapolate the possible improvements across the 13 hospitals within the South West (Severn/Peninsula) Deanery that host respiratory trainees.Methods We monitored weekly elective pleural clinics over 3 months; recording the number of patients, procedures performed, and weight of recycled waste collected. We included patients seen in our elective respiratory procedure space, excluding those seen for procedures in our endoscopy unit (such as those undergoing thoracoscopy). We surveyed respiratory registrars across the South West Deanery as to whether recycling is routinely collected from elective pleural procedures at each hospital site. Information regarding waste management was collected from the RDUH sustainability team.Results We recorded data from 19 elective outpatient pleural clinics, reviewing a total of 95 patients, performing 40 procedures and generating 16.65 Kg recycled waste. On average we saw 5 patients and performed 2 procedures per clinic, with 0.876 kg recycled waste collected per day. Our sustainability team states that recycling is half the financial cost of disposing of clinical waste with a 0.2–1.0 kg CO2-eq/kg waste produced, versus 1.0–3.0 kg CO2-eq/kg waste for incineration. Only 1 other of the 13 hospital sites hosting respiratory trainees in the South West Deanery routinely collects recycling from their elective pleural procedures.Conclusions This project highlights the small but easily achievable gains in environmental and financial impact from facilitating recycling in clinical areas used for pleural procedures. Continuing this work at our site will save up to 490 Kg CO2-eq per year. Given the low rates of similar recycling across the deanery, this would have implications for the potential recycling of up to 1567 kg of waste and saving 4389 Kg CO2-eq per year across this region.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, UK"
      ],
      "name": "B Rowlands"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, UK"
      ],
      "name": "B Callow"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Z Sein"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, UK"
      ],
      "name": "J Corcoran"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P80 Improved recycling of elective pleural procedural waste",
  "uid": "5e6438fa-5950-5c90-ade1-1918d8f3c5e4"
}