HEALTHCARE & SUS TAINABI L I T Y
Tackling the Tsunami of plastic in the NHS
With the NHS producing around 590,000 tonnes of waste per year, Leicester Children’s Hospital has recognised the need to take action and has implemented a strategy to reduce its impact on the environment. Dr. Sanjiv Nichani OBE and Dr. Sahil Nichani reveal how hospitals can make a difference and deliver change.
The NHS produces higher than the global average emissions for healthcare and is responsible for 5.4% of the UK’s total carbon emissions with the average in the developed world being around 4.4%1
The annual
emissions output from the NHS is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 11 coal fired power stations2
or looked at another
way the NHS produces the same amount of carbon dioxide as 800,000 space launches. Recent data showed that the NHS produced nearly 590,000 tonnes of waste in 2016-17, which was equivalent to 5.5kg of waste per patient per day. By comparison, France and Germany which historically have a greater cultural, political and statutory commitment to waste minimisation and recycling produce only 1.9kg and 0.4 kg per patient per day. Over the last few years, the NHS has slowly been reducing its carbon footprint. However, it remains the largest single emitter of greenhouses gases in the UK and the largest single producer of plastic in Europe.
Global picture
If healthcare were a country, then it would be the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet according to the Not for Profit Organisation, Health Care Without Harm. More than half of this is a result
of energy use: electricity, gas, steam, air conditioning and operational emissions. In addition, it is clear that healthcare providers generate a large volume of waste including excessive water use and physical waste.4 As the interdependencies between the environments and a person’s physical health have become increasingly clear, cutting greenhouse gas emissions is perhaps the most direct way that healthcare can align
The focus should be on educating and challenging assumptions. Unbeknown to the vast majority of healthcare professionals, according to the World Health Organization, 85% of hospital waste is non infectious, the bulk of which is recyclable.
MARCH 2021
pro-environmental behaviour and human health benefits. The Climate Emergency, declared by the UK Government, is a clarion call for the NHS to look beyond the traditional health sphere and focus on the social determinants of health in which the climate and the environment are key factors. Aside from a reduction in disease and deaths caused worldwide by increased extreme weather conditions and sea level rise, cutting emissions often comes with cost savings that can be ploughed back into healthcare.
The juggernaut to remove plastic from our lives has largely spared the healthcare sector and, starting with COVID, there are good reasons for that – such as improved safety for the patient because single-use plastic devices reduce the risk of infection. In addition, single-use plastic can be an attractive option for hospitals-cheap, durable and easily tossed out and each
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