Journal
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
Volume 185, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106425
Keywords
Medicalplastic; Single-useplastic; MFA; Hospital; Healthcare
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This study conducted a material flow analysis of single-use medical plastics and their packaging in a surgical hospital in Germany. The research found that polymers accounted for a significant proportion in medical consumables, with personal protective equipment and incontinence products being the major product categories.
Plastics have become omnipresent in healthcare but quantitative data on mass flows are scarce. This study, therefore, performed a material flow analysis of single-use medical plastics and their packaging in a surgical hospital in Germany. We quantified the flows of eight different polymers across six product categories of medical consumables, based on the evaluation of the consumption data for 2018 and 2019. A total of 619 g of medical consumables were used per patient per day, of which 86% were polymers (531 g/patient/day). Plastic packaging contributed an additional 16 g/patient/day. The major product categories were personal protective equipment (49%) and incontinence products (22%). Polypropylene with 45 % and latex with 25% were the major polymers, both of which are tied to the use of personal protective equipment. The detailed analysis of the material and waste flows may serve to highlight potential steps for the plastic reduction in hospitals.
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