Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) is the first NHS Trust in the east of England to recycle metered dose inhalers and, more importantly, the propellant gases used to deliver the drugs.
The Trust is collecting patients' used metered dose inhalers (MDIs) in recycling bins placed in Addenbrooke's Hospital.
Each full MDI commonly has a carbon footprint equivalent to 28kg of CO2 or to put it another way, the same as driving 175 miles in a petrol car – the distance from Cambridge to Swansea. Once ‘empty’ of the drug, a CO2 equivalent of 4 kgs of propellant remains in the inhaler – about 14% of the original amount.
More than 12 million people in the UK are currently affected by respiratory conditions, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MDIs are a crucial piece of equipment, which works by using a chemical propellant to produce a spray or puff of the medicine, which enters the lungs.
Each year 73 million MDIs are dispensed to help people to manage their conditions.
“Inhalers are a vital piece of equipment for many people but they do have an impact on our environment,” said Alice Carr, paediatric respiratory secretary at CUH, who used this recycling project as part of her apprenticeship in sustainable healthcare.
“Hopefully, in the future, there may be a shift towards inhalers that don’t rely on propellants,” said Matthew Rutter, lead respiratory physiologist at CUH. “We are encouraging our patients who use MDIs to use the recycling bins and help to reduce our carbon footprint. Recycling every MDI used by patients at CUH alone could save the equivalent of over 560 return petrol car trips from Cambridge to Swansea.”
The new MDI collection bins are sited in clinics 2A and 6 at Addenbrooke’s Hospital for Trust patients to simply drop their ‘empty’ inhalers into. There is also one in the Level 1 central pharmacy for inhalers collected through the medicine disposal process. The inhalers do not need to be broken down, but patients should remove the label with their personal information.
Full bins are collected by a specialist recycling company and the ‘empty’ inhalers are broken down. The gas is used within the refrigeration industry and the metal and plastic are also recycled.
Katie Sell, sustainability manager at CUH, is proud of the way departments have collaborated to make this scheme work. “We believe we are the first Trust in the east of England to fully recycle MDIs. Encouraging our patients to use the recycling bins is important in reducing our carbon footprint and ensuring the safe disposal of Co2 gas as well as the inhaler plastic and metal casing,” she said.
All patients who have been prescribed an inhaler are encouraged to bring their empty MDI inhalers with them to their next appointment and to recycle them in the designated bins.
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