Achieving the sustainable waste management of medical plastic packaging using a life cycle assessment approach

Hospital waste management often classifies all waste, including uncontaminated plastic packaging, as hazardous, leading to incineration as the primary treatment method. While effective for safe treatment, incineration incurs high costs and significant environmental impacts. This study explores an alternative approach through the segregation and sustainable management of plastic packaging waste derived from medical device use to mitigate these environmental consequences. Using a Life Cycle Assessment, this research evaluates and compares the environmental impacts of three waste disposal scenarios of plastic packaging: hazardous waste incineration, general waste landfill, and plastic recycling. The analysis focuses on 1 kg of plastic packaging waste generated from medical devices at the Limb Vascular Center, Konkuk University Hospital, South Korea. The results show that general waste landfill has an environmental impact of 79.7 % and plastic recycling has an impact of just 11.8 %, highlighting their significantly lower environmental impacts compared to hazardous waste incineration. These findings underscore the significant benefits of adopting more sustainable waste management practices in healthcare and offering valuable insights for enhancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices within hospitals.