Towards plastic-free healthcare in Europe

Plastics have become indispensable in the healthcare sector, and they facilitate the work of healthcare professionals all over the world. The low price of plastic and its relative ease of manufacturing has led, however, to overuse of plastic products and packaging, often in situations where they are not needed. Plastics are also rarely recycled, especially plastic-made medical materials - this is concerning because plastic, from production, to use and disposal, can be harmful to both human health and the environment.

Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe conducted the project Towards plastic-free healthcare in Europe, funded by the Flotilla Foundation, from 2020 to 2023. Through this project, HCWH Europe aimed to transform the use of plastic in hospitals and assist healthcare facilities in transitioning to a circular economy model and reducing unnecessary plastic use

Key objectives

The long-term objective of this project were to reduce the negative impact that plastics from the European healthcare sector have on both the human health and the environment. This project aimed to transform current practices to reduce plastic use within the European healthcare sector and to support the sector in transitioning to a circular economy model.

Project steps 

As a project facilitator, HCWH Europe collaborated with European healthcare providers to assess the plastic use in their facilities and raise awareness of plastics and circular healthcare. The project aimed to initiate discussions on tackling single-use plastics (both medical and non-medical) and unsustainable disposal methods. Additionally, HCWH Europe aimed to mobilise demand for sustainable plastic and packaging alternatives within European markets.

The project consisted of three pillars of action: research, capacity building, and scaling up.

1. Research – Plastic waste audits to investigate the use of plastic and to reveal the opportunities and barriers for increasing circularity and reducing plastic use.
2. Building capacity - Educate healthcare professionals and procurers on the environmental and health impacts of plastics and promote solutions in line with the waste hierarchy.
3. Scaling up - Expand the plastic-free healthcare movement by disseminating project results and launching a communication campaign that targets priority plastics products for substitution or reduction, e.g. gloves, incontinence products, personal protective equipment.

Project update

The second phase of the Towards plastic-free healthcare project successfully concluded in January 2023 and has given participants a greater understanding of plastic use and solutions in healthcare settings through webinars and in-person training programs. Across Europe, waste audits were conducted in healthcare facilities. The communication campaign was launched, providing momentum for plastic action in the healthcare sector.

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our project partners remained motivated to reduce plastic use in healthcare. The pandemic has in fact starkly revealed the negative consequences of healthcare’s overreliance on single-use plastics, with disruptions in supply chains and shortages of essential supplies hindering the safe delivery of care, as well as the difficulty of handling mountains of waste. Healthcare’s plastic problem is now more visible than ever and healthcare professionals are increasingly aware of the need to address plastic use in healthcare. 

Since the beginning of the project we conducted waste audits in 14 of our partner hospitals – you can learn more about the audits and the methodology in our publication Measuring and reducing plastics in the healthcare sector, which can be found in the project resources.

In total, we analysed 2,58 tonnes of waste from general, sanitary/offensive, and plastic recycling waste streams - nearly half (1.23 tonnes, 45%) was identified as plastic. The plastic products that were found in the largest quantities during the waste audits were wipes, gloves, and nappies. Food contact materials were also found frequently. One project participant identified six product categories that accounted for over 60% of the total plastic used annually:

Project participants drafted their plastic action plans in response to the audit findings and devised strategies to tackle plastic waste in their healthcare facilities, including:

• Reduce consumption of disposable medical plastics by using reusable gowns.
• Replace plastic containers in IV administration systems with glass.
• Reduce the consumption of examination gloves through information and awareness campaigns.
• Reduce plastic in food services with reusable tableware, alternative materials, and increase the use of tap water
• Reduce plastic in laundry by replacing polyethylene packaging with smaller paper packaging.

The next phase of reducing plastic in European healthcare

Our focus will be on inspiring and educating healthcare professionals to engage with their communities about plastic risks and reduction opportunities through workshops, trainings, and other initiatives.

To better understand the types of plastic products used in healthcare, we will continue our research efforts to improve sector-level understanding.

Building on the success of our project, we will expand the #ReducePlasticsInHealthcare movement and scale up action for plastic reduction. We will work with the Healthcare Market Transformation Network to develop solutions for reducing or substituting plastic products in healthcare settings.

Project participants

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Care Medical Institute’s participation is made possible by the support of Beyond Plastic Med.

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Co-funded by the EU and the Flotilla Foundation. HCWH Europe is solely responsible for this content and related materials. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official views of the EU, CINEA, or Flotilla who cannot be held responsible for them.

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