Repurposing Unused Medical Supplies

When theatre nurse Claire Lane learnt that packs of unused medical supplies were being thrown out, she was prompted to take action. Although clean and unused, the packs containing drapes, gowns, masks and other medical supplies, can’t be recycled or re-used in Australian hospitals because of Australian standards.

The realisation that these supplies were going to landfill led Lane and her former partner to create the not-for-profit organisation Save Our Supplies. The charity collects clean, unused medical supplies and redistributes them where they are needed. Even though they have passed their expiry date, “they are still perfectly clean and can be used in a lot of other environments,” Lane told ABC Radio Brisbane.

Volunteers collect, sort, pack and deliver the supplies to where they are needed. So far they have assisted wildlife and homeless charities, universities, and have been sent to Papua New Guinea.