Medical waste: challenges and missed opportunities

Presentation by Dr Leonie Walsh (Solving Plastic Waste CRC)

Abstract

Delivery of healthcare requires a broad range of treatment options both in the hospital and in the home. The nature of the treatments and risk of infection has resulted in practices that depend on  single use of many of the treatment materials with many of these materials being made from single use plastics As a result the healthcare industry is a significant contributor to plastic waste generation.