一次性医疗用品的大量使用造成回收难题

An 80 year old women, who is diagnosed with issues with her immune system, is treated with a continuous infusion of antibiotics to treat her infection. Almost every piece of equipment involved is used once, then thrown away. She calculates that there would be 730 IV bags, 156 disposable ice packs, 52 plastic and 104 forceps that would be thrown into the trash after a year. Multiple syringes are used at a rate of at least 3 a day. She calculates that she has already used more than 1000. The pump for her medicine works on double-a batteries that need changing after a day or two. There were so many old batteries to dispose of that she could barely lift the bag with her arm. She used to take the waste to a local pharmacy before the pandemic, but that was out of question since COVID started. She asked the supplier if the company could take away the waste for recycling, with no luck. She called the ottawa hospital, with no luck. Everyone she talked to came to the same conclusion: just throw it all out. This is a great issue that should be looked at. One patient can produce this amount of waste.