Comparative life cycle assessment of reusable and disposable scrub suits used in hospital operating rooms

Abstract

Hospitals are using an important number of textiles for employees, patients and visitors. These textiles are mainly disposable, but reusable options are becoming increasingly interesting. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of reusable scrub suits in France was conducted to assess their potential environmental impacts compared to disposable scrub suits using ten environmental indicators. The functional unit is “to provide an operating room employee with scrub suits daily during 4 years' service”. Primary data were collected from a reusable suit producer, its suppliers and clients. A reusable scrub suit system has a lower environmental impact for the majority of indicators. Reusable’ impact on climate change decreases by 31% compared to disposable scrub suit system. When considering the use of 1.8 disposable scrub suit instead of one per day of work, the impact on climate change of reusable solution is 62% lower compared to disposable scrub suits. However, the impact on water depletion remains much higher for the reusable scrub suit scenario, especially due to the impact of cotton production. Overall, the reusable scrub suit seems an attractive solution for the healthcare sector leading to a reduction of the environmental footprint compared to a standard disposable option.