Case Study

Hospital Success Stories: Insights from Hospitals Across the EU

In 2020, over 32 billion pounds of healthcare plastics were produced globally, and is expected to grow to 48 billion pounds by 2025. This continued growth will bring with it increases in healthcare plastic waste.

Most of this hospital waste is being disposed of in landfills or is incinerated. However, 85% of the hospital waste generated is non-hazardous, meaning it is free from patient contact and contamination. This combined with the high-quality of the plastic waste results in strong potential for recycling.

The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) undertook a qualitative study to understand the barriers that exist for recycling plastics within healthcare facilities today, focusing on hospitals in Europe. Four hospitals were selected to take part in the study. The hospitals were based in the Netherlands (Linz, Utrecht), UK (Northampton) and France (Santeon). They are all public hospitals, with capacity varying from 700 to 5000 beds. The majority of hospitals were recycling waste for approximately 2 years, along with one hospital that was only starting to implement a waste management programme.

Interviews with sustainability or waste leaders were conducted between September 2023 and April 2024. The interview process was conducted via a questionnaire with guided interviews afterwards, using predetermined questions. Responses were aggregated to the following categories:

    • Materials and Products
    • Sorting
    • Program Implementation
    • End of Life
    • Economics

 

 

Hospital Success Stories: Insights from Hospitals Across the EU
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Conclusions

All hospitals interviewed recognized the need to increase recycling and improve waste streams, driven by a strong purpose rather than economic incentives (Figure 3). There is a clear will and desire to do better. Implementing effective recycling programs involves change management, which requires discipline, training, and crucially, support from hospital management.

Separation of waste, the first step in recycling, is occurring at the point of use. However, this often involves the most expensive medical staff and locations, which are space, time and human resource constrained.

Simplifying the process and identifying materials more clearly were highlighted as beneficial, along with providing increased space for separation and storage is as a key enabler. If recycling waste offered better financial value for hospitals, it could further help overcome some of these barriers.

The perceived risk and complexity associated with hazardous waste are believed to deter waste collection and recycling, even though such waste can be removed and is present at low levels. Education, proper separation, and in some cases, decontamination, are essential to addressing this issue.

This assessment identified high levels of awareness in hospitals and early progress in developing sustainable solutions. It also pinpointed several key areas requiring change to enable more widespread and effective recycling in hospitals.

HPRC extends its gratitude to the hospitals that contributed their insights.

Does your hospital in the EU have a recycling program? Share your insights and experiences here.