Hospitals are among the largest producers of biological waste and potentially dangerous chemicals. The use of biodegradable products produced from recycled newspapers and telephone books is growing, however, and helps reduce contamination and infection risks in many communities.
The Toronto-based company Vernacare is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of bed pan liners and other disposable products, including bowls and urinals made from one hundred percent recycled newspapers and telephone books. For over thirty years, the company has been producing pulp paper products in environmentally-friendly ways to help combat the spread of infections in hospitals and care facilities in Europe, Canada, and the United States. A single phone book can make up to fifty liners, and the pulp is not treated with bleaching chemicals that are linked to cancer, birth defects, and environmental contamination in waterways and animal habitats.
As a result, the bed pan liners are singularly unattractive. A nondescript, drab gray, they resemble egg cartons and other non-glamorous containers. A natural plant resin is added to the pulp for leak-proofing, and the liners are used in conjunction with plastic bed pans for support and stability. Because they are made of recycled paper, the liners are warmer than plastic to the touch and will not stick to moist skin, making them more comfortable for patients. The liners fully cover the top of the bed pans and can be equipped with biodegradable covers for additional protection.
After use, the bed pan liners can be safely disposed of, rather than being rinsed and decontaminated. Quick and easy disposal means that waste material is less likely to splash or contaminate other surfaces, and health care workers are able to spend less time cleaning and more time involved in other aspects of patient care. Workers themselves are less likely to spread infectious bacteria to other patients, resulting in shorter hospital stays and faster recoveries.
Bed pan liners reduce landfill waste in numerous ways. First, the phone books and newspapers that are used to produce the liners are no longer clogging landfills, and the liners themselves are biodegradable. Furthermore, plastic bed pans are typically used for a single patient, rinsed and decontaminated after each use, and then disposed of when that patient is discharged. If liners are used, a thorough decontamination after the patient leaves can be sufficient for the supporting plastic bed pan to be reused on another patient instead of immediately being sent to a landfill.
Individuals can purchase biodegradable bed pan liners from medical supply stores and catalogs. If these sources are not available, however, it is possible to use old phonebooks to line personal bed pans. Simply tearing pages out of the book and inserting them into the bed pan has a number of benefits. The lining muffles noise and helps control odors. The absorbent nature of the thin pages reduces splashing, which can minimize spills and aid cleanup. Phonebooks are readily available and the pages are small enough to be used without cutting or trimming, unlike newspaper pages. While old phonebook pages are not as sanitary as commercially manufactured liners, they are beneficial to individuals who regularly use bed pans.
Using recycled phone books as plastic bed pan liners is a healthy and environmentally friendly practice for homes, hospitals, and care facilities. Immediate benefits include lessening contamination risks and increasing time spent in direct patient care, and long term benefits range from cleaner waterways to smaller landfills. Today and tomorrow, biodegradable bed pan liners help keep everyone healthier.
