A photographic assessment of contamination of operating theatre sharps and pharmaceutical waste bins in 21 Australian and New Zealand hospitals

The segregation and proper disposal of hospital waste are growing issues. This study aims to identify and visually quantify the amount of non-sharps items found in sharps waste bins across Australian and New Zealand operating theatre complexes. In this multi-site collaborative audit of 21 hospitals, a 'bird's-eye' photograph was taken and visible non-sharps items were counted, categorised and collated from every sharps waste bin within participating operating theatre complexes. Each bin was assessed a minimum of two times with a minimum two-week interval between assessments. Sixteen thousand, three hundred and sixty-nine non-sharps contaminants were identified in 896 sharps waste bins assessed across 21 sites. The bins assessed were 78% sharps waste bins (698 bins) and 32% (198) were pharmaceutical and sharps bins. The most common misplaced items were unbroken glass vials (31.9%), syringes without needles (28.9%) and packaging (12.1%). Incorrect placement of non-sharps items into sharps waste bins was frequent and common across all participating Australian and New Zealand operating theatres. Care must be taken to ensure pharmaceutical waste enters incinerated waste streams. Redirecting appropriate items into general waste or recycling streams could significantly reduce their financial and environmental cost.