Our first factsheet on waste in the healthcare sector is out !

The healthcare sector is responsible for a large amount of waste. Notably, 0,5kg of hazardous waste are produced per hospital beds in high-income countries and 0,2 kg in less developed countries which results in millions of tons of waste per day.

The CARING NATURE partners aim to reduce and valorise waste in the healthcare sector. To this end, they introduced four key solutions:

  • WASTE-OR – Guidelines and tools to optimise operating room waste management by encouraging waste reduction, reuse and recycling.
  • MED-WASTE PYROLISIS – A cutting-edge solution using pyrolysis to convert 75% of medical waste into clean energy, reducing carbon emissions from transportation and waste disposal.
  • CleanFlow – A water treatment process designed to handle hazardous hospital wastewater, minimizing environmental pollution.
  • FoodToBiogas – A feasibility study focused on converting hospital food waste into energy using anaerobic digestion and drying methods.

These solutions are developed by different partners in the CARING NATURE consortium and will be tested and validated in several facilities in Europe. They aim to transform waste management practices across healthcare facilities, reduce carbon footprints and promote a greener healthcare sector.

For more information, check our first factsheet here.