Sustainable Healthcare Case Study: Transforming Waste into Festive Solutions - Sustainable Christmas Decorations in a Hemodialysis Unit
Tuesday 06 May 2025
Monash Healthcare is Victoria’s largest public health service. Monash Health serves 22,000 people across 40 care locations. This includes 3,000 beds across its various hospital campuses.
The Problem:
The hemodialysis unit was confronted with the issue of excessive waste generation, an increasingly concerning problem within healthcare settings. Hemodialysis units produce a significant amount of waste, including clean waste from unused medical supplies, expired stock, and other items no longer in use. This waste not only leads to higher disposal costs but also contributes to environmental pollution. To reduce the waste output, the hemodialysis unit created Christmas decorations out of medical supplies that were no longer able to be used clinically.
Goals:
- Enhance cost-efficiency - Buying new decorations every year for events like Christmas added unnecessary expenses. Creative solutions to this issue would allow for cost savings without compromising the festive atmosphere.
- Reduce Waste Sent to Landfill- Reduce the amount of clean waste, expired stock, and unused materials being sent to landfills by identifying opportunities for reuse and repurposing these materials for non-medical purposes, into Christmas decorations.
- Increase Staff Awareness and Education on Sustainability - A key objective was to educate staff about the types and volume of waste generated in the hemodialysis unit.
The process:
Pilot: The project began with a small, manageable pilot project in the first year, primarily led by Annette, where she experimented by creating a few decorations at home using clean waste and expired materials from the hospital. These pilot sessions allowed her to test different designs, adhesives, and materials, ensuring they could be easily replicated by staff and remain safe for display in non-clinical areas. This approach also helped her understand what type of waste could be effectively reused.
Behaviour change and education: The behavior changes needed for the project primarily revolved around enhancing staff awareness of waste segregation and encouraging them to actively participate in the recycling process. Staff training included informal education and team huddles, ensuring everyone understood what types of waste to collect and how to contribute.
Resources: The installation of the decorations involved 4-5 staff members and took up to 6 hours to complete. It was a time-intensive process, as these weren’t traditional store-bought decorations. Each piece had to be constructed from repurposed materials and strategically placed around the unit to fit the design and space. No additional equipment was required; glue and staples were used for assembly. After practice runs, the team transitioned to water-based adhesives and made sure the waste remained visible.
Updated themes: The initiative was first implemented in October 2022, with an annual review scheduled to ensure its effectiveness and relevance. Each year, the decorations are adapted based on the new theme. Staff will need updates on what materials will need to be collected to ensure it fits with the yearly festive theme.
The outcome:
“In one year, we've managed to rescue 160 kilos of PVC from landfill. The one that really blows my mind is the miscellaneous caps up the top, which are like little needle caps, bung ends of bungs, that sort of thing. It's almost 6 kilos a month that we're diverting out of landfill”- Annette Jamieson
The initiative resulted in cost savings by eliminating the need to purchase new Christmas decorations. The project significantly reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill. By repurposing materials that would otherwise be discarded, this effort helps decrease environmental pollution and supports broader sustainability goals.
The initiative boosted staff satisfaction by offering a creative, team-building activity. efforts. It also encouraged broader discussions on waste management within the hospital, waste management within the hospital, potentially inspiring other departments to adopt similar practices. The visual impact of the decorations raised awareness about sustainability among staff and patients, contributing to a culture of environmental responsibility.
Celebrating the holiday spirit! The Hemodialysis Unit staff proudly gathered in front of their festive Christmas decorations, marking their first year together post-COVID.
"These are our Christmas wreaths, we used 960 expired blood tubes in that 1st year to make about 8 wreaths" - Annette Jamieson
Festive reindeer wall art lines the nurses' station, featuring a nearly 3-meter-long desk panel adorned with polystyrene blood tube trays at the back. A creative touch to brighten the workspace!
The 6-foot tall Santa, crafted from red albumin caps and black blood tube trays for his boots! With a touch of cotton balls and silver pharmacy foil bags for gloves, he stands proudly against a backdrop of large cardboard boxes provided by our stores.
Next steps:
We will continue the annual Christmas decorations competition with a climate-focused theme and explore opportunities to expand similar sustainable initiatives across the hospital. We will also consider publishing data to share insights and successes, and plan for future themes related to climate change.
