Is healthcare behaving badly with plastic?
November 29, 2018 | Hospital waste, Plastic, Poison, Recycling, Sustainability, Waste
It’s time for the healthcare sector to demonstrate leadership in plastic recycling and the use of sustainable plastics.
By Matthew Ross, Creative Director, Page & Page
It had been a long Monday, and I had been to hockey training without dinner. I got in tired and hungry. Placed my dinner (lovingly prepared by my, now sleeping, wife) into the microwave, poured myself a large glass of milk, and turned on the TV to watch some sort of rubbish while I ate. A pattern of behaviour that I’m sure you recognise.
I found myself joining the middle of a programme titled ‘The history of rubbish’. As the remote control was tantalisingly out of reach, I found myself strangely drawn into the programme (alongside the irony of the situation). It wasn’t just detailing the past, but also how we may harness the power of rubbish in the future. It turns out that contemporary landfill can be surprisingly energising. However, as our historical landfill sites slowly erode into our riverways, there is of course a scourge. A scourge that plagues our coastlines and oceans. A poison that has become a cultural pariah.
The healthcare provision enjoyed by us today would be impossible without plastic. For a long time now, I’ve been helping clients communicate their messages of convenience. The single use device here, or the hygienic plastic coating there. I’ve instinctively recognised the practical, compliance and financial benefits. Saving time and money by making things as easy as possible, combined with simple use that improves medical outcomes. This has to be the better way, right?
Well, apparently not. One of our clients belongs to the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) who are looking to the future with a sustainable healthcare model. In the US alone, 14,000 tons of medical waste is produced in a day, 85% of which is non-hazardous.1 Much of this waste falls into a single use “take-make-dispose economy”. A trial collection project in Chicago co-ordinating the mass collection of waste from several hospitals, has been able to demonstrate the value of both recycling and energy conversion. By shifting our mind-set, and a little effort we can turn this around into a circular “make-use-return” economy.
Here in the UK we have a healthcare system that has been defined by the expertise of our dedicated healthcare professionals, but the internet is clearly providing a turning tide of patients who are arming themselves with vastly improved knowledge. People are beginning to take responsibility for their own healthcare. And with that personal responsibility comes a conscience.
Recently I’ve had cause to have conversations with clients who are finding that the end consumer is rejecting their product because it cannot be recycled. It may well be the most convenient, comfortable, and cheapest product available with the shortest treatment pathway, but is it sustainably produced? If not – then that conscience will carry the consumer to the slightly more inconvenient option.
Healthcare provision will have a longer grace period than straws, but clever and sensible manufacturers (whom possess some of the largest R&D resources on the planet) are already researching how to substitute their non-recyclable elements with sustainable options, and will no doubt make the most of these ‘advances’ in their marketing and intellectual property portfolios.
As responsible human beings we have known for some time that our plastic life of convenience has to be checked. As our historical landfill sites on marshes are eroded into by rivers – leaving our poisonous convenience exposed and composing into the seas and oceans – so we have to face up to both our personal and corporate responsibilities.
References: 1. https://www.hprc.org/about-hprc
This content was provided by Page & Page Health
Company Details
Latest Content from Page & Page Health
The concordance conundrum: the art of active listening
The art of active listening explores the links between effective communication and better patient concordance and medical outcomes, why many HCPs still overestimate their ability to communicate effectively and the...
The concordance conundrum: understanding the complexities of behaviour change
Understanding behaviour change looks at the six fundamental steps required to change human behaviour and discusses why HCPs need to start here if concordance is to be improved.
The concordance conundrum: creating space for open dialogue
Growing numbers of patients want a partnership model with their HCP, whereby both parties are equally involved in the decision-making process. This model has been linked with an increase in...
The concordance conundrum: the tech divide
COVID-19 resulted in the rapid adoption of virtual consultations; while they offer increased accessibility and convenience for some, are they really all they are cracked up to be? Consultations in...
Improving patient concordance: where does industry fit in?
What’s in a name? explores the idea that those healthcare organisations that develop tools and support structures to improve concordance will be at an advantage when it comes to product...
The concordance conundrum: the value of improving patient experience
This is the first in a series of articles where we explore how the current climate presents companies with a multitude of opportunities to improve communication between healthcare organisations and...
The Pivot
In times of uncertainty it is critical for businesses to take action to protect their brand image and longevity.
Communicating through video
It's likely that video is about to replace a lot of your face-to-face appointments.
Could coronavirus turn us all into online gamers?
As businesses gauge the potential impact of coronavirus (COVID-19), with a sense of fear and pessimism causing a dampening of economic activity and suspension of the stock market, the healthcare...
Love – it really does make the world go around
No two people are the same nor as individuals are we particularly predictable – we might like to think we are because at some point in time someone decided that...