Waste not want not: piloting a clinical waste audit at a United States university veterinary teaching hospital.

Biomedical waste is a well-recognized environmental problem, yet less is known about the waste generated in the delivery of veterinary care compared to human medicine. The objective of this project was to develop and pilot a waste audit protocol for veterinary medicine that could inform waste management at a US university veterinary teaching hospital and the broader veterinary community. We conducted a multi-day review of the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital's small animal surgery and anesthesia units to measure the types and amounts of waste generated during routine surgeries.