In the United States, it is estimated that operating rooms contribute approximately 30% of the 5 million tons of waste generated by hospitals each year. And of that OR waste, about 20% comes from blue wrap. In this episode, Barbara Belanger, a perioperative nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital discusses some key initiatives around her OR: blue wrap recycling and food waste diversion.

Please check out our landing page at https://www.massgeneral.org/environment-and-health/healthcaresos, where you will also find links to resources discussed in this podcast. You may also find our recorded webinars related to perioperative sustainability of interest: Waste Reduction, Recycling and Circular Economy Opportunities (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB9Nubenzr8) and Mitigating Anesthesia’s Impact on the Environment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C7tF5y3bTk)

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