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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Cleaning up plastics in healthcare waste: the transformative potential of leadership
ClearHow Should US Health Care Lead Global Change in Plastic Waste Disposal?
This article argues that US health care must lead global change in plastic waste disposal by assigning accountability to organizational leaders, implementing circular supply chains, and collaborating across medical and waste industries to reduce environmental harm.
The environmental awareness of nurses as environmentally sustainable health care leaders: a mixed method analysis
This study surveyed nurses about their environmental sustainability knowledge and practices, finding that most have adequate awareness but face barriers to sustainable behavior in the workplace. While not directly about microplastics, the study highlights the role healthcare workers can play in reducing medical plastic waste, a significant source of microplastic pollution.
Single‐use materials and poorly recycled waste in intensive care: An argument for improving sustainability
This article argues for improving sustainability in intensive care units by addressing the environmental impact of single-use plastics, paper, and other materials commonly used in clinical settings. The authors highlight that ICU waste is energy-intensive to produce and difficult to recycle, contributing significantly to healthcare's carbon footprint. The study calls for rethinking material choices and waste management practices in critical care to reduce plastic pollution and environmental harm.
Biomedical waste plastic: bacteria, disinfection and recycling technologies—a comprehensive review
Researchers reviewed recycling and disinfection technologies for the surge in biomedical plastic waste generated during COVID-19, finding that roughly 25% of biomedical waste is recyclable and that cleaner treatment approaches — from autoclave sterilization to chemical recycling — can convert this hazardous waste stream into recoverable materials.
Infection prevention and control programme priorities for sustainable health and environmental systems
Researchers highlight a paradox in healthcare: infection prevention programs that protect patients and workers from disease also generate significant plastic waste and environmental harm. Addressing this trade-off is essential for building health systems that are both safe and truly sustainable.
Effects of Mismanagement of Medical and Plastic Waste in Pre and During COVID-19 Outbreak
This review examined how mismanagement of medical and plastic waste — a problem worsened by COVID-19 — harms the environment and human health, particularly for healthcare workers. Improperly disposed PPE, sharps, and plastic packaging create pollution hazards and increase disease risk. The authors call for improved waste management infrastructure to address pandemic-era plastic waste surges.
Reducing pediatric healthcare plastic pollution: Call to action
This paper highlights that hospitals are a significant and underrecognized source of plastic pollution, generating large volumes of single-use plastics that degrade into micro- and nanoplastics. Children are especially vulnerable due to their developing physiology and higher per-kilogram exposures. The authors call for clinical strategies to reduce unnecessary single-use plastics, transition to safer alternatives, and advance regulatory policies restricting harmful plastic additives in healthcare settings.
The Polymer Medical Waste: A Tough Challenge for Environmental Sustainability
This review examines polymer medical waste — including plastics and non-degradable materials from hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and veterinary facilities — as a major environmental sustainability challenge, discussing the contamination risks from blood and infectious materials and the difficulties of managing non-decomposable healthcare plastic waste.
Environmental stewardship in healthcare: Use of bio-plastics in surgery
This review examines the growing environmental burden of healthcare waste, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and evaluates the potential of bioplastics as sustainable substitutes for conventional single-use plastic surgical materials. The review advocates for bio-plastic adoption in surgery as part of broader environmental stewardship efforts in healthcare to reduce landfill waste, incineration emissions, and toxic chemical release.
Evaluating the Environmental and Health Impacts of Disposable Plastics: Toward Sustainable Material Alternatives
This review examined the environmental and health impacts of disposable plastics and explored sustainable alternatives, drawing on secondary literature across environmental science and health disciplines. The paper assessed plastic waste contributions to ocean pollution and proposed strategies to mitigate these challenges.
Challenges in Healthcare Waste Management of the UN 2030 Agenda in the COVID-19 Era
This review examined healthcare waste management challenges during COVID-19, finding that the pandemic dramatically increased demand for single-use personal protective equipment, creating large new streams of potentially infectious plastic waste with serious implications for environmental microplastic pollution.
Medical waste management: Treatment, recycling and disposal options
This review covers treatment, recycling, and disposal options for medical waste, which comprises a heterogeneous mixture of conventional and hazardous materials generated by healthcare facilities. The authors assess the environmental and public health implications of different management approaches and identify best practices.
Actionable avenues for dermatologists to reduce their environmental impact
This commentary outlines actionable steps dermatologists can take to reduce the environmental impact of healthcare delivery, including minimizing single-use plastics, reducing regulated medical waste, and implementing green procurement policies. Researchers highlighted opportunities for reassessing procedure kits, minimizing medication waste, and promoting environmentally conscious practices. The study underscores that healthcare settings are significant contributors to plastic waste and offers practical strategies for reducing that footprint.
Safe and sustainable waste management of self care products
This commentary advocates for safe and sustainable waste management practices for self-care products such as medicines and cosmetics, many of which contain plastic packaging or microplastic-forming ingredients. It calls for multisectoral approaches combining education, industry responsibility, and regulatory frameworks.
Our Plastic Planet is Hurting Humanity`s Health. Is there a Solution?
This commentary examines the global health impacts of plastic pollution and explores potential solutions ranging from individual behavior change to policy interventions and material innovation. The author argues that the scale of the problem demands coordinated action across governments, industries, and communities.
Plastic particles in medicine: A systematic review of exposure and effects to human health
Medical plastics including bags, containers, and administration sets release micro- and nanoplastics along with chemical additives that can interact with pharmaceutical constituents, creating an understudied route of direct human exposure. Both primary exposure (during medical treatment) and secondary environmental exposure (from hospital plastic waste disposal) represent potential health hazards.
Plastic Pollution Is Everywhere
This perspective piece from an oncology nurse examines how plastics and microplastics permeate cancer care settings, reflecting on the contradiction of relying on plastic medical products while evidence grows that microplastic exposure may itself contribute to cancer risk.
Sustainability in anaesthesia and critical care: beyond carbon
Researchers reviewed the full environmental footprint of healthcare — going beyond greenhouse gas emissions to include water pollution, toxic chemicals, and microplastics — and found that drugs like propofol and antibiotics discharged into waterways, along with massive quantities of disposable plastic equipment, pose serious ecological risks. The article calls on clinicians and policymakers to adopt holistic strategies that reduce waste, limit single-use plastics, and account for the full spectrum of environmental harm.
Environmental Impact of Plastic Waste: Strategies for Sustainable Management
This systematic review summarizes the environmental and health impacts of plastic waste and evaluates strategies for sustainable management. It highlights that plastic pollution threatens ecosystems and human health through microplastic contamination, and examines approaches like recycling, biodegradable alternatives, and policy interventions to reduce exposure.
Evaluating and Managing the Effects of Improper Medical Waste Disposal
This paper evaluated the public health and environmental consequences of improper medical waste disposal, reviewing evidence of pathogen spread, chemical contamination, and plastic pollution from inadequately managed clinical waste. It recommended strengthened regulatory frameworks and treatment infrastructure for healthcare waste.
Waste plastic management: Recycling and the environmental health nexus
Researchers reviewed plastic recycling methods and their health and environmental trade-offs, finding that mechanical recycling releases microplastics that can enter the body through inhalation and ingestion, and calling for smarter waste management systems and reduced use of toxic plastic additives.
Solving the plastic problem: From cradle to grave, to reincarnation
This review of the plastic waste problem summarized evidence that microplastics are now found everywhere—from Arctic ice to deep ocean trenches to human tissues—and argued that existing waste management approaches are fundamentally inadequate. The author calls for a comprehensive redesign of the plastic life cycle, from materials innovation through to end-of-life recovery.
Perspectives of vets on plastics in veterinary medicine
This qualitative study gathered perspectives from veterinarians on the role of plastic in veterinary medicine, covering both the risks of plastic overuse and the challenges of reducing it. The research highlights that the veterinary sector contributes to plastic pollution through single-use medical supplies and packaging.
Impacts and Regulations of Healthcare Solid Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
This systematic review summarizes research on healthcare waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic, when medical plastic waste surged dramatically. The massive increase in disposable masks, gloves, and other medical plastics created new sources of microplastic pollution, raising concerns about both environmental contamination and potential health effects from degrading medical waste.