Reducing Healthcare’s Environmental Impact

Challenge

The healthcare sector faces a significant environmental challenge due to its reliance on single-use plastics for infection control, consistency, and cost efficiency. Single use plastics contribute to carbon emissions, plastic waste, and pollution. While over 60% of countries have implemented regulations on household plastic waste, the healthcare sector remains more complex due to strict sterility requirements and material constraints. Equally, the shift to reuse must be balanced by considering the footprint of sterilisation and transport with protection of patient outcomes and perceptions. Tackling these sustainability challenges requires a holistic approach that balances clinical effectiveness with environmental responsibility.

Solution

The University of Manchester and Bupa have formed an innovative three-year research partnership supported by an EPSRC Prosperity Partnership to develop new strategies to reduce plastic waste in healthcare settings. The interdisciplinary collaboration will explore the relationship between social practices, material selection, reuse, and recycling while maintaining high clinical standards.

Key focus areas include:

1. Understanding Social Practices in Healthcare – Investigating how material selection, usage, segregation, and disposal practices influence sustainability.
2. Reuse and Sterility – Assessing the feasibility of reusable materials while ensuring safety and infection control.
3. Mechanical and Chemical Recycling – Establishing efficient clinical waste recycling streams to create value through mechanical recycling and chemical depolymerisation.
4. Environmental Sustainability Assessment – Quantifying environmental impacts and developing a hierarchy for sustainable materials in healthcare provision.

The project benefits from the resources and data of over 500 Bupa facilities, including dental practices, clinics and The Cromwell Hospital.

Impact

The collaboration between University of Manchester and Bupa assesses routes to increase recycling of plastics, implement circular economy and encouraging the use of alternative materials which aims to transform material use in healthcare settings. It aligns with the University of Manchester’s research priorities including the Sustainable Futures and Healthier Futures research platforms. It showcases The University of Manchester’s commitment to sustainability, reaffirmed by its top 10 global ranking in the 2025 QS World University Sustainability Rankings, and Bupa’s ambitious 2040 net-zero pathway.