Potential of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in a circular economy from a life cycle assessment perspective

a case study for anaesthesia and surgical instrument packaging waste in Australia

authored by: Constantin Keul, Sebastian Spierling, Venkateshwaran Venkatachalam, Hans Josef Endres, Leonie Barner, Kerstin Wyssusek
Abstract: Plastics are a versatile material group with many applications in the healthcare sector. Clinicians, particularly in the operating rooms, have become increasingly dependent on single-use instruments and consumables typically packaged in Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) resulting in significant amounts of PET waste. In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology based on ISO 14040/44 is conducted to assess the environmental impacts of existing and potential future end-of-life options for PET anaesthesia and surgical instrument packaging waste in an Australian hospital context. The results show the reduction potential of environmental impacts by recycling of PET waste via direct collection or in Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand. When replacing end-of-life options such as landfill or incineration with recycling, a reduction of 88% of total Climate Change (CC) impact can be seen. Furthermore, there is a reduction in environmental impacts across other impact categories through this change. Even if the recyclate quality (up to 30%) was reduced, there is a significant reduction in the environmental impacts. The transition of end-of-life options to recycling offers the potential for reduction of emissions and enables a circular economy for plastics. Furthermore, based on the results of LCA, opportunities and challenges of circular economy pathways in health industry are identified and discussed in this study.
Organisation(s): Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy
External Organisation(s): Queensland University of Technology
Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
University of Queensland
Type: Article
Journal: Frontiers in Environmental Science
Volume: 12
Publication date: 18.10.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: General Environmental Science
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 - Climate Action
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1415604 (Access: Open)