The environmental impact of personal protective equipment in a pre and post COVID era in the ENT clinic.

PURPOSE: The use of single use plastic items and plastic wrapping has increased over the last number of decades. Outside of the medical field there has been a conscious drive to reduce single use plastic and reuse items to reduce the amount of waste we produce. We undertook this investigation to quantify our plastic waste production and generate ideas to reduce this volume.
METHODOLOGY: Data was collected from a University Hospital ENT outpatient department via real-time recording methods using standard data collection forms. We measured plastic unit usage pre and post COVID restrictions and compared this to our number of patient encounters. Projections of plastic usage were determined via a hypothetical resumption of patient services model.
RESULTS: In total there were 440 patients included. In period one the mean units of plastic used per day was 65.1 (median 67; range 27-84). In the second period, the mean number of plastic units was 23.4 (median 22; range 1-7). Blue nitrile gloves and masks were the most commonly used single use items. The hypothetical projection model predicted a 147.6% increase in single use items following the introduction of COVID precautions.
CONCLUSION: We have a duty of care not only to our patients but future generations of patients and the environment which we share. Single use items and excessive plastic wrapping have benefits in terms of convenience and sterility, but these conveniences can be easily extended to reusable types to limit our volume of waste, reduce our waste management costs and protect our environment.