Material flow analysis of single-use plastics in healthcare: A case study of a surgical hospital in Germany

Plastics have become omnipresent in healthcare but quantitative data on mass flows are scarce. This study, therefore, performed a material flow analysis of single-use medical plastics and their packaging in a surgical hospital in Germany. We quantified the flows of eight different polymers across six product categories of medical consumables, based on the evaluation of the consumption data for 2018 and 2019. A total of 619 g of medical consumables were used per patient per day, of which 86% were polymers (531 g/patient/day). Plastic packaging contributed an additional 16 g/patient/day. The major product categories were personal protective equipment (49%) and incontinence products (22%). Polypropylene with 45 % and latex with 25% were the major polymers, both of which are tied to the use of personal protective equipment. The detailed analysis of the material and waste flows may serve to highlight potential steps for the plastic reduction in hospitals.