
Oxygen masks, tubes and IV bags will be transformed as Stawell's Grampians Health campus embraces a new recycling program.
The group wants to cut the amount of medical waste heading to landfill.
The old PVC medical products will instead be recycled and turned into new products.
The trial has started in the campus's theatre while hospital staff embed the right processes, with expectations the urgent care department will soon be brought on board.
Plastics account for a large percentage of the hospital's waste and it wanted to safely recycle more of it, director of engineering Darryn Wardle said.
He praised clinical nurse specialist Belinda Reading for helping bring the program to Stawell, along with Sam Harris, acting environmental and sustainability coorodinator.
"Belinda is an integral part of this program and with her enthusiasm to help care for the environment, I'm confident the program will be a success at Stawell," Mr Wardle said.
Ms Reading said the Stawell campus had already saved 5.9kg of waste going to landfill in the few weeks the program had run.
"We are also exploring a series of other initiatives including recycling items from the perioperative area, for example e-waste in the form of diathermy and electrical leads," she said.
More news: Nominations open for Australia's best pooch
"We are also planning to help decrease the use of single-use patient belongings bags at the hospital in the future. We will be encouraging patients to bring their own soft reusable bag for their belongings, and we are exploring sustainable bag options for those occasions when a patient forgets to bring a bag."
The PVC Recycling in Hospitals Program also operates at Grampians Health's Horsham and Ballarat campuses.
Catch up with all the latest local news via our website, HERE