Healthcare single-use plastics could cost health systems €34 billion annually by 2040
Research covering seven product categories across Europe and North America finds healthcare systems generated waste equivalent to six million hospital beds in 2023, with costs set to rise from €23 billion to €34 billion by 2040 without coordinated intervention.
Health systems across Europe and North America generated approximately 900,000 tonnes of single-use plastics in 2023 – roughly equivalent to the weight of six million hospital beds – at a cost of €23 billion, according to new research published today (10 September).
The report, A Prescription for Change: Rethinking plastics use in healthcare to reduce waste, greenhouse gas emissions and costs, reveals that without intervention, annual healthcare plastic waste volumes and greenhouse gas emissions could rise by almost 50 per cent by 2040, pushing costs for hospitals and health systems in Europe to over €34 billion per year.
The analysis by global sustainability consultancies Systemiq and Eunomia examined seven high-volume product categories across healthcare settings: gloves, fluid bags and tubing, rigid devices, device packaging, PPE, wipes, and pharmaceutical packaging. These categories collectively generated 5 million tonnes of CO₂e emissions in 2023.
"Healthcare has become overly dependent on disposable plastics, locking hospitals into rising costs and increasing greenhouse gas emissions," said Yoni Shiran, Partner and Plastics Lead at Systemiq. "By redesigning products and procurement around circular economy principles, we can protect patients, protect budgets, and build resilience against future shocks."
Five strategies to reduce healthcare plastic waste
The research identifies five evidence-based circular economy strategies that European hospitals and suppliers can scale: refusing and reducing unnecessary use, reusing safe durable alternatives, substituting with paper-based or compostable materials, improving recycling through better design and segregation, and procuring low-GHG emissions plastics from biobased or Carbon Capture and Storage sources.
If implemented systematically, these interventions could by 2040 cut single-use plastics waste in Europe by 53 per cent, reduce GHG emissions by 52 per cent, and deliver annual savings of €8.7 billion – a 26 per cent reduction compared to business-as-usual scenarios.
"This report presents the strongest evidence yet to galvanise the global healthcare community into urgent action on plastic waste," said Pallavi Madakasira, Managing Consultant at Eunomia. "It offers a common set of priority interventions and a data-driven roadmap to accelerate progress."
The findings align with growing industry recognition of the scale of healthcare plastic waste. Over 1,000 labs are now participating in closed-loop recycling systems, while over 32 billion pounds of healthcare plastics were produced globally in 2020, expected to grow to 48 billion pounds by 2025.
Practical examples
The report highlights successful implementations already underway across Europe. In England, several NHS trusts have replaced single-use surgical trays with reusables, eliminating thousands of disposables each year while improving staff efficiency. In France, pilot projects at hospitals are reprocessing select medical devices, safely cutting both waste and costs. German manufacturers are redesigning rigid device packaging, reducing plastics use by up to 40 per cent.
Will Clark, International Supply Chain Transformation Director at Health Care Without Harm, noted: "This report shows we can safely reduce or replace plastics, cut costs and environmental harm, and still deliver high-quality care."
However, the research also identifies seven key barriers slowing progress: fragmented governance, data gaps, short-term cost focus, regulatory inertia, infrastructure gaps, behavioral norms, and weak market signals.
Call for a system-wide transformation
Professor Mahmood Bhutta, Chair of ENT Surgery at Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Director of the Green Healthcare Hub, emphasised the urgency of action: "The volume of disposable materials used in healthcare, including plastic, is staggering. This report provides the evidence and direction needed to help health systems make sustainable, low-waste care the norm."
The analysis comes as healthcare systems face mounting pressure to reduce environmental impact while managing budget constraints. The research follows similar initiatives examining medical recycling systems that are economically viable at scale and lifecycle approaches to plastic waste management within the framework of the circular economy.
The report was developed in consultation with an independent panel of clinicians, hospital sustainability leaders, industry representatives, and academics from Europe and North America.
