Engineering a compostable isolation gown to reduce hospital-derived synthetic waste accumulation in landfill

Abstract

The ever-increasing accumulation of synthetic waste in landfill is a growing pollution and public health concern. In 2018, hospitals in the United States landfilled 1.5 million tons of personal protective equipment (PPE). Single-use, disposable PPE gowns constitute the greatest percentage of landfilled PPE by weight and are overwhelmingly made from non-degradable synthetic materials. The most common and disposed of type of PPE gown are isolation gowns, which are used by healthcare workers attending patients under isolation precautions. One study has shown that under isolation procedures, healthcare systems will on average dispose of 33 gowns per patient per day as municipal waste, contributing a substantial amount of solid waste to landfills. Therefore, to alleviate the strain on landfills, a need exists for isolation gowns that do not contribute to the accumulation of synthetic waste. The approach taken in the present work to address this need was through the creation of a degradable textile from which to make isolation gowns. The prototype textile is a paper-based substrate with an ASTM D6400 certified compostable functional coating to grant the barrier properties necessary to prevent liquid penetration. The compostable, lightweight, coated paper product was tested in accordance with the ASTM F3352 Standard Specification for Isolation Gowns Intended for Use in Healthcare Facilities. The prototype exceeded the AATCC 42 and 127, and ASTM D5034, D5733, and D1683 standardized test requirements to be classified as a high-protection Level 3 isolation gown. As such, the prototype textile has been identified as a suitable material from which to create compostable isolation gowns.