Knee replacement surgery produces more waste than family of four in one week. Operations to replace worn out knees in Canada are generating nearly half a million kilograms of surgical waste every year, according to a new study that says more needs to be done to “green” the nation’s operating rooms.

After conducting a waste audit of five knee replacements performed by a single surgeon in February 2010, researchers from Western University in London, Ont., found that the average surgical waste per surgery was 13.3 kilograms.

When extrapolated to the more than 47,000 knee replacements performed in Canada in 2008-09, the authors estimated that knee surgeries generated 407,889 kg by weight of landfill waste.

Surgical waste includes everything from disposable gowns, gloves and drapes, to sponges, gauzes and other infectious materials.

So much more can be done, and obviously IS being done, at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, to reduce waste, to improve segregation, and to facilitate reuse and redirection of unused supplies as part of a humanitarian aid programme.

See also Intercare medical aid for Africa

See also Re-processing and re-use of single-use medical equipment