Kingston Health Sciences Centre's (KHSC) Go Zero Inhaler Recycling Program has diverted more than 3,000 inhalers from landfills in its first year, showing that small changes can have a big impact on the environment.
Launched by KHSC’s Physician Quality Committee, the program has grown from a pilot into an organization-wide effort. Twenty recycling boxes are now available across 16 inpatient and outpatient areas, with patients and staff participating in both KHSC’s adult and pediatric care programs.
In its first year, the program recycled 143 kilograms of material, with more than 97 per cent successfully recycled - 2.2 per cent was non-recyclable material.
"Over the first year, we've collected more than 3,000 inhalers from patients across the organization," said Dr. Geneviève Digby, interim co-chair of the Division of Respirology and medical director of Patient Safety, Quality and Clinical Risk at KHSC. "It's been exciting to see the program expand across so many areas – it is helping reduce waste and lessen the environmental impact of health care."
Inhalers contain plastics, aluminum and, in some cases, propellants which contribute to global warming. Recycling these devices helps recover valuable materials while preventing unnecessary waste.
The program's success can be credited to a collective effort, with patients enthusiastically embracing the initiative. Survey results showed that most patients felt recycling their inhalers helped reduce their personal environmental impact, while appointment reminders played an important role in prompting them to bring used inhalers to their clinic visits for recycling.
Good news from the program has extended beyond KHSC, with hospitals across the region and province reaching out to learn how they can also put similar programs in place.
"We've had interest from organizations across the country that want to learn from our success and understand how they can start their own inhaler recycling programs," said Dr. Digby. "We're happy to share what we've learned because environmental sustainability is something we can all work on together."
The initiative is also inspiring new sustainability efforts across KHSC. Building on their success, the Go Zero team is launching a pilot to recycle personal protective equipment, including gloves, masks and visors, in the Endoscopy unit at the KGH site. This program will also expand into the Emergency and Critical Care departments, as well as into Endoscopy at the HDH site.
In addition, the program is catching the eye of people across our community. A local Kingston Secondary School grade 9 student recently introduced an inhaler recycling collection box at their school, collecting about 70 inhalers within the first month.
"It's a great example of how hospitals and the community can work together on projects that improve both environmental sustainability and population health," said Dr. Digby.
The Go Zero initiative also helped KHSC achieving it’s Choosing Wisely Canada Leadership Status, recognizing the organization's commitment to reducing unnecessary waste while delivering high-quality patient care.
Inhaler recycling boxes can be found in multiple locations at the Hotel Dieu Hospital site, including in the clinics on Jeanne Mance 5, the Jeanne Mance 4 waiting room, in the pulmonary function testing lab on Brock 4, in the Brock 1 clinics, the Children's Outpatient Clinic and the Urgent Care Centre. They are also available on the KGH site in the Asthma Clinic on Armstrong 4. You don't need to be a specific patient in any of these areas, any patient is welcome to use these locations to recycle their inhalers.
