The production, circulation and disposal of single-use medical plastics pose significant risks to human and environmental health. These products are often difficult to recycle, release harmful toxins when incinerated and have a substantial carbon footprint, making the healthcare sector comparable to the fifth largest country in terms of emissions.

After the Single Use brings together anthropologists and historians to address this challenge, employing innovative methods to explore how disposability became normal, analyse the lifecycles of single-use plastics, and collaborate with stakeholders to develop sustainable healthcare solutions.

After the Single Use is a bold global cooperative across four continents that promises to develop a new field of critical humanities, and social science research on medical plastics and circular healthcare economies. Through combining ethnographic and archival research with experimental methods from art, design informatics, environmental advocacy and participatory research, we aim to expand and transform methodologies to tackle the interdisciplinary challenges of environmental change and contribute to understanding of healthcare waste as a historical and social issue.

Researchers will be based in India, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Senegal, Switzerland, Tanzania and the USA. The Norwegian Bioart Arena and international NGO Health Care Without Harm are key partners on the project.

Funded by Wellcome. HCWH Europe is solely responsible for this content and related materials. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official views of Wellcome, which cannot be held responsible for them.

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