The carbon footprint of waste streams in a UK hospital

'A number of studies have estimated the carbon footprint of healthcare provision in a variety of contexts, but the emission factors used to account for associated waste vary widely and are not healthcare specific. This article by Chantelle Rizan, and co-authors, estimates and compares the carbon footprint of different hospital waste streams'.

These emission factors could be used to understand the carbon emissions associated with the different waste streams in your own hospital or healthcare organisation, help inform healthcare waste policies which encourage processes with the lowest carbon impact, and encourage the designing of recyclable healthcare products. 

Highlights:

• Clinical, anatomical and medicinal waste streams have highest carbon footprint.
• The choice of waste stream has an up to 50-fold impact on the carbon footprint.
• Waste streams with lowest estimated carbon footprint have lowest financial costs.

Access: The carbon footprint of waste streams in a UK hospital - ScienceDirect

Chantelle Rizan, Mahmood F.Bhutta, Malcom Reed, Rob Lillywhite. The carbon footprint of waste streams in a UK hospital. Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 286, 1 March 2021, 125446