5 Barriers to Zero-Waste in Healthcare
When people think about waste reduction, the focus often falls on household practices such as single-use plastics, excessive packaging, and food scraps that emit methane in landfills. Far less attention is paid to a life-saving sector that is also among the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions — healthcare.
As the planet warms, the risk of climate-related illnesses and system strain increases. It places additional pressure on hospitals and care providers. Therefore, curbing emissions is an urgent responsibility for the industry itself. Zero-waste practices are being implemented throughout hospitals, but translating them into daily clinical practice remains a significant challenge.
1. Misclassified Waste
Effective refuse management is critical in healthcare, where high-risk materials like needles, blood-soaked items, and lab cultures are common. However, it remains a major challenge. One study found that approximately 85% of hospital waste in the U.S. doesn’t require infectious waste treatment, yet it’s often placed in red biohazard bags. Significant savings result from improved bedside segregation.
Clear bin placement, color-coded segregation systems, and visual cues help personnel sort discarded items properly. Using waste audits as educational tools accelerates behavior change and increases staff engagement.
2. Unused Medical Waste
One study found that each procedure results in the disposal of an average of 11.5 surgical and dressing items. It increased to 981 unused articles across more than 85 cases in the study. It also cost $2,193.50 and generated 441 kg of CO2e. These figures highlight the significant waste associated with unused disposables.
An optimized process that is grounded in evidence-based practices reduces waste and inefficiencies. This begins with systematically reviewing supply kits using actual case data rather than relying on habit.
Adopting a “milk run” system, in which carts make scheduled rounds to restock operating rooms from a central storage location, helps keep supplies lean rather than requiring constant replenishment throughout shifts.
Additionally, replacing outdated paper reference cards with digital versions that include surgeon preferences improves accessibility and enhances inventory control. Donation partnerships for unopened items further lower disposal costs while supporting community clinics.
3. Food Waste
Large, busy hospitals can generate up to 48,000 pounds of food waste per week, much of which is discarded during preparation or refused by patients. Nationwide, approximately 24% of food scraps end up in landfills, which account for 58% of methane emissions. It highlights the need to improve the cafeteria systems.
Standardizing meal portions has proven effective in minimizing inpatient food waste and can serve as a starting point for healthcare providers to implement further reduction strategies. Offering smaller meals encourages patients to request seconds rather than leaving food uneaten.
Additionally, an accurate meal-ordering system that accounts for preferences and dietary needs helps ensure that patients consume the prepared meals. Since appetite often varies during treatment, flexible meal scheduling allows them to receive appropriate nutrition when they are ready to eat.
4. Plastic-Heavy Care
Single-use plastics dominate modern medicine due to their sterility, low cost and durability. However, this dependence impacts the environment and human health. The U.S. healthcare sector generates 14,000 tons of waste, with plastic packaging and products accounting for 25% of this total.
Many devices rely on single-use designs, which shift responsibility to manufacturers. This contributes to a growing problem with discarded electronics, which accounts for 70% of global toxic waste due to hazardous metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium found in many devices.
Electronic medical equipment is a growing component of this waste stream. Additionally, bulky equipment and mixed materials make recycling even more challenging, further limiting options for sustainable disposal.
Switching to sterilizable, reusable instruments, gowns, and packaging wherever feasible can immediately reduce disposable plastic use. Sustainable procurement also involves partnering with suppliers who offer biodegradable or eco-friendly wrappers.
Although the circular economy in healthcare faces challenges like sterilization and data privacy, it remains a promising approach. Designing products for reuse, repair and recycling should start at the manufacturing stage. Encouraging the safe reprocessing of devices and materials helps extend product life cycles and reduce waste.
5. Limited Staff Training
Waste management is rarely addressed in textbooks and practical clinical education, resulting in inconsistencies in waste classification. Even hospitals tend to implement protocols ambiguously, leaving much open to interpretation rather than adhering to clear standards.
This gap is especially noticeable both administratively and on the ground. For example, while 81% of healthcare administrators believe current disposal efforts already limit environmental harm, only about half of providers share this confidence.
Peer-led programs are the most effective solution. Having champions on board is proven to encourage greater adoption of best practices. Green teams and friendly competition provide additional support without relying on strict top-down rules.
Simple tools, such as reminders and shared goals, boost participation without adding extra workload. These approaches foster a team spirit that facilitates the formation of sustainable habits.
Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities for Zero-Waste
Zero-waste in healthcare does not eliminate disposables altogether. It limits unnecessary use and recovers value from what remains.
Hospitals facing staffing shortages and rising costs often find that reducing waste enhances efficiency rather than conflicting with patient care priorities. Each streamlined process, properly sorted bag, and reused gown demonstrates operational discipline.
Facilities that adopt these practices position themselves to meet stricter future regulations as global expectations regarding waste and plastic reduction grow due to ecological and safety concerns.
Digester size must match waste volume. Systems that are too large waste resources, while smaller systems struggle to keep up.