A method for more sustainable events

At its core, the fundamentals of occupational therapy focus on enabling people to participate in meaningful activities (also known as occupations), across numerous settings and contexts. Yet, the environments where these occupations occur are sometimes overlooked. In the Anthropocene era, a proposed geological time period defined by human impact on the Earth to have begun in the mid 20th century, these environments are increasingly strained by both positive and, more often, negative environmental impacts. Within the occupational therapy profession, this manifests as environmental degradation, inequitable resource distribution, and waste-driven impacts on community health. These are not abstract threats; heat events limit outdoor activity, polluted air exacerbates respiratory conditions, and supply chain instability affects access to adaptive equipment. These are interruptions to our daily lives and barriers to occupational justice for our future clients.

However, our profession’s expertise in occupations allow us to take action to positively impact our clients. Previously, one initiative was zero-waste events. Zero-waste is quite ambitious and would be a large feat to achieve; however, Occupational Therapists for Environmental Action recently popularized a more achievable outcome called waste-conscious events that are not merely a peripheral sustainability "nice-to-have." These events serve as a learning laboratory where OT and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students and practitioners can absorb ideas for reducing environmental burdens in practice and bring occupation-centered insight into systems that shape health. Occupational Therapists for Environmental Action is a group of occupational therapy practitioners and students working to raise awareness about how climate change affects human health, wellness, and daily participation, both in the United States and around the world, through initiatives like waste-conscious events (Occupational Therapists for Environmental Action, 2022).

Waste-conscious events aim to minimize the environmental footprint not through perfect purity, but through intentional systems. These systems may include prioritizing the reuse of items, reducing single-use disposables, keeping resources circulating, and educating attendees in real-time about these choices. While “zero waste” labels typically indicate diverting 90% of materials from landfills (Environmental Protection Agency, 2025), “waste-conscious” emphasizes continuous improvement and acknowledges that every effort—from managing drinks and food to transportation—is a step forward (Society for the Study of Occupation: USA, 2025). This framing resonates with occupational therapy’s ethos: we adapt, repurpose, and innovate in resource-limited contexts every day in our careers as future OT practitioners. Waste-conscious gatherings simply scale that mindset to communal spaces.

From Idea to Practice

Waste-conscious events can be implemented in various ways within your school and student organizations, and even at hospitals and clinics during fieldwork, capstones, and throughout your professional services. Here are some ideas to put a waste-conscious events into action:

• Student-led workshops: Try repurposing scrap materials from therapy labs into new adaptive equipment or therapeutic tools. For example, if your institution has leftover orthosis scraps, these can be combined for continual use to reduce waste.
• Departmental events: I love free food and drinks (don’t we all)! However, during departmental events, consider implementing a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) or BYOP (Bring Your Own Plate) initiative to use for drinks and food, thereby reducing single-use plastic bottle or plate waste. Additionally, auditing waste-generating practices and suggesting new ideas to your institution’s department or student meetings can make these events more waste-conscious.
• Community outreach: Create a low-barrier pledge for reducing waste at campus events or in collaboration with local community groups on waste reduction initiatives.
• Interdisciplinary collaborations: It would be a disservice to focus solely on occupational therapy. Instead, partner with other student organizations and health care departments (e.g., audiology, genetic counseling, medical doctorate, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, etc.) to host a waste-conscious campus or networking events.
• Professional organization engagement: Learn from organizations that focus on waste-conscious principles, such as Occupational Therapists for Environmental Action, to continually enhance waste-conscious events.

Occupational Therapy Implications and Moving Forward

These waste-conscious conferences create a ripple effect:

• Economically: cutting disposal costs and purchasing fewer single-use resources.
• Environmentally: lowering landfill contributions, conserving energy, and reducing raw material extraction.
• Socially: raising awareness, modeling sustainable behaviors, and fostering a positive professional image for occupational therapy.

For occupational therapy, the implications extend even further. A waste-conscious mindset affirms our profession’s commitment to occupational justice, environmental stewardship, and community well-being. This aligns sustainability with meaningful occupations and reinforces that our work is not only client-centered but also planet-conscious. Waste-conscious gatherings remind us that meaningful occupation depends on thriving environments. By participating in, learning from, and helping to build such events, OT and OTA students claim their role in shaping sustainable futures within our profession, other health care professions, and broader communities that we serve. Together, we can build momentum where occupational and environmental justice meet for our clients, using waste-conscious events!

References

Occupational Therapists for Environmental Action. (2022). Truly holistic occupational therapy—Who we are. https://www.otenvironmentalaction.com/who-we-are

Society for the Study of Occupation: USA. (2025). 2025 Annual Research Conference. https://www.sso-usa.net/2025-annual-research-conference

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025). How communities have defined zero waste. https://www.epa.gov/transforming-waste-tool/how-communities-define

Tyler R. Hood, OT, is a recent graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine’s Program in OT. He is service-driven and passionate about teaching, sustainability, and making a positive change in occupational therapy practice. He hopes to work in an outpatient setting while continuing to promote positive change in occupational therapy to improve the profession’s prominence.