Health care will always produce some waste since biomedical waste is unavoidable in the provision of health-care services and some non-hazardous waste cannot be diverted due to infection prevention and control guidelines and patient care priorities. For the purposes of this Guide, the vision is zero avoidable and unnecessary waste that we strive to embed in all areas of health care. In order to move toward the vision of zero avoidable and unnecessary waste, we look to the guiding principle of a circular economy, in which we do not rely on extraction of raw resources, but first use what already exists.
This guide details the impact of health-care waste and the need to move to a more circular economy. Four circular priorities are outlined with key interventions detailed:
- Circular Procurement
- Sharing Economy
- Build for Circularity
- Clinical Process Change
