Get involved with sustainability

Sustainability can be incorporated into every aspect of Unity Health. See below for ways you can get involved with sustainability at Unity Health!

Take action

Bring your own bag

A quality improvement project at St. Joseph’s Health Centre and St. Michael’s Hospital is encouraging day surgery and procedure patients to bring their own closable, reusable bag. The initiative is one way Unity Health is taking action to reduce single-use plastic waste and support more sustainable care.

• Patients are encouraged to bring a closable reusable bag, such as a backpack, duffel bag or zippered tote.
• Patients are also encouraged to bring a reusable water bottle, if possible.
• Surgical units at both sites, as well as Endoscopy at St. Joseph’s, are participating in the initiative.
• Before this initiative, Unity Health hospitals used nearly 40,000 plastic bags each year for patients’ belongings — equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from a round-trip flight from Toronto to Vancouver.
• Plastic accounts for about 30 per cent of overall waste in hospital settings.

By bringing reusable items to hospital, patients can help cut down on unnecessary plastic and contribute to Unity Health’s broader sustainability efforts.

What goes where

The Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee has launched What Goes Where to help staff, patients, and visitors properly identify where to dispose of specific waste items. You can use the tool through the link below.

Launch the What Goes Where tool

You can also take these simple actions to help Unity Health create a more sustainable future.

• Carefully separate recycling, compost, and garbage. 
• Bring reusable water bottles and coffee mugs.

Educate yourself and participate in a campaign

For staff, read more information on sustainability education and campaigns.

Be a sustainability champion

Have an idea? Want to get more involved? Let us know at Sustainability@unityhealth.to.

Last updated September 10, 2026