RBWH anaesthetics debuts reverse recycled artwork

‘Flipped Circles’ is on display at RBWH.

Almost 10,000 pieces of plastic waste from the operating theatres of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital have been transformed into a large artwork for patients to enjoy while they wait for surgery.

Anaesthetic Healthcare Practitioner and local mosaic artist Rushanthi Herath was approached by her colleague, Anaesthetist and Associate Professor Kerstin Wyssusek with the task of creating something beautiful from non-recyclable waste.

Rushanthi was up for the challenge, creating her piece “Flipped Circles” made of a variety of discarded plastic materials such as medicine vial caps and cannulas in her signature mosaic style.

With more than 20 per cent of all hospital waste being generated from operating rooms, yet many items not able to be recycled within current recycling programs, Kerstin felt passionate about a ‘reverse recycling’ project with plastic waste.

“An increase in population and size of healthcare facilities, as well as the increased use of disposable medical products have all contributed to a global increase in the amount of waste generated,” Associate Professor Wyssusek said.

“Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital collects over 1000 plastic items from theatre each day that cannot be recycled.

“Sixty per cent of operating room plastic is potentially recyclable but still ends up in landfill, so I approached Rushanthi, our artist in the department, and the whole team pitched in and helped collect the plastics.”

For Rushanthi, who usually works with stained glass, creating a mosaic from recycled plastics was a new experience yet one she fully embraced.

“My main focus was to create colourful and meaningful art that can help patients feel less anxious and nervous while waiting to go into surgery,” Rushanthi said.

“Embedded in each of the pieces is a remarkable story, a journey, that is connected to a patient. This art serves as a tribute to the relentless efforts of the operating theatre staff and the many thousands of patients who have journeyed through the operating theatres at RBWH.”

Kerstin’s passion for reverse recycling continues into 2025, where will be running a creative couture workshop at the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists conference in May. Attendees will be working with Kerstin to create jewellery and fashion from collected operating theatre plastics from Queensland hospitals.