Nursing Waste Reduction for a Healthy Environment

The global environmental health and climate crisis is worsening. Health care generates significant greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change, inadvertently harming human health. One contributor is the consumption of many supplies, materials and products, the manufacturing, transportation, use and disposal of which contribute to greenhouse gases. The many waste streams in health care are complex, including some which are highly regulated and costly. Nurses handle large amounts of waste in daily practice—and are in key positions to decrease waste, while ensuring that remaining waste is disposed of in the right stream, at the right cost, with the least environmental impact. In this review, waste streams are identified, suggestions for nursing actions to handle waste properly are offered, and an example is shared of one large health system's approach in their waste optimization plan.