Cho Yoora, Withana Piumi Amasha, Rhee Jay Hyuk, Lim Song Tak, Lim Juin Yau, Park Sang Woo, Ok Yong Sik
Korea Biochar Research Center & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, South Korea.
International ESG Association (IESGA), Seoul, 06621, South Korea.
Heliyon. 2024 Sep 19;10(19):e38185. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38185. eCollection 2024 Oct 15.
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.
医院废物管理通常将所有废物，包括未受污染的塑料包装，都归类为危险废物，导致焚烧成为主要处理方法。虽然焚烧对于安全处理很有效，但会产生高昂成本和重大环境影响。本研究探索了一种替代方法，即通过对医疗设备使用产生的塑料包装废物进行分类和可持续管理，以减轻这些环境后果。本研究采用生命周期评估法，评估并比较了塑料包装三种废物处置方案的环境影响：危险废物焚烧、一般废物填埋和塑料回收。分析聚焦于韩国建国大学医院肢体血管中心产生的1千克医疗设备塑料包装废物。结果表明，一般废物填埋的环境影响为79.7%，而塑料回收的影响仅为11.8%，凸显出与危险废物焚烧相比，它们的环境影响显著更低。这些发现强调了在医疗保健领域采用更可持续废物管理做法的重大益处，并为加强医院内部的环境、社会和治理（ESG）实践提供了有价值的见解。
