In a little over 100 years since its invention, plastic has transformed our world, simultaneously improving our everyday lives and quite literally polluting it to the point of destruction. As the BBC previously reported, plastic has gone from being perceived as a scientific wonder to reviled as an environmental scourge. The theme of this year’s Earth Day takes aim at the evolution of plastics with the theme: the Planet vs. Plastics. Earth Day representatives call for a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040. To achieve this ambitious goal, some revisioning of the healthcare industry is in order.
The most significant benefits provided by the invention of plastic emerged in the medical field. Plastic’s ability to be easily produced and sterilized allowed us to create disposable plastic syringes and other devices like surgical gloves, IV tubes, catheters and more. It truly revolutionized the modern healthcare industry. Yet, today we are paying the price. Audit Scotland estimates that the NHS in Scotland generates more than 15,000 tonnes of clinical waste each year. Greenhouse gas emissions from NHS waste disposal have increased 101% in 2021/22 compared with 2019/2020. Globally, healthcare systems are responsible for 4% to 5% of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from single-use plastics, plastic packaging and pharmaceuticals. According to Health Care Without Harm, scientists have estimated that over half of the world’s population is at risk from environmental, occupational or public health threats derived from improperly treated health care waste. Healthcare waste was further exacerbated during the pandemic due to the prolific use of plastic products like masks, gloves and vaccine vials.
The Edinburgh Earth Initiative previously reported on recent innovations to reduce the disposability of medical devices and achieve a more circular economy in healthcare. Among the innovators was Alice Street, PhD, Professor of Anthropology and Health in the School of Social and Political Science, and Principal Investigator for ‘Investigating the Design and Use of Diagnostic Devices in Global Health’ (DiaDev), funded by the European Research Council. Her research includes studies of health systems, global health interventions and medical innovation. The DiaDev project explores the emergent role that diagnostic devices are playing in the transformation of health systems in low and middle-income countries.
Street has continued her work on diagnostic discards with Maiwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas at Heriot Watt University. Their team is developing diagnostic prototypes from recycled materials. Working with the UK moulding company Great Central Plastics, they have figured out a way to turn chewing gum scraped from the streets and old fridge components into lateral flow tests (LFTs). LFTs are used to test for many illnesses such as strep A, pre-eclampsia and COVID-19. If all LFTs were made from sustainable materials, carbon emissions from non-recycled LFTs could be cut by 30-80%, according to Kersaudy-Kerhoas. The project has been widely covered in the media.
More recently, Street has received a £5.9M Wellcome Trust Discovery Award to research the history, circulation and solutions to single-use plastics in healthcare. Led by Street, the award funds a collaborative collective of researchers across eight countries tackling the proliferation of single-use plastics in our health systems, from aid posts in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, to well-resourced hospitals in the USA.
Street’s ‘After the Single Use’ project and her continued involvement with DiaDev demonstrate ongoing efforts to decarbonise the healthcare industry and transition away from plastics as the industry standard.
