Reducing plastic in the operating theatre: Towards a more circular economy for medical products and packaging

Abstract

Plastic single-use devices (SUDs) are favoured by healthcare facilities, especially surgical departments, for their convenience, sterility, and single-use quality assurance. Medical facilities are responsible for generating large amounts of CO2 emissions due to resource-intensive processes and reliance on single-use plastic products, among other factors. Currently, there are knowledge gaps in literature about specific types and amounts of plastic products generated by hospitals, and more specifically, operating theatres. Existing relevant research focuses mostly on waste management solutions, negating the potential solutions further up the value chain. While considerations that focus on waste management and end-of-life are important, those that span the rest of the value chain, including the circular economy and the waste hierarchy, are inherently important. This study addresses this knowledge gap by quantifying these fractions and making recommendations to reduce them. Observations, polymer analysis, and surveys with medical staff were conducted at two hospitals in Denmark. Results suggest that the current design of medical products and packaging does not consider the end-of-life fate of the product, making current sorting and recycling options impossible. Recommendations from this study highlight external responsibilities such as those of producers and manufacturers to include consideration of the end-of-life fate of the product within the design phase. These are in addition to internal responsibilities such as the use and sorting of these fractions.