Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.8
3.3
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Sustainable Waste Management in the Healthcare Sector
sustainability-logo
Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Sustainable Waste Management in the Healthcare Sector

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 21498

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Rita Khanna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. International Visiting Professor, School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China
2. School of Materials Science and Engineering (Ret.), The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: waste management; resource recovery; environmental protection; sustainability; circular economy; metals and materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shaundeep Sen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Senior Clinical Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
2. Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Concord, Sydney, Australia
Interests: environmental sustainability of kidney medicine and dialysis; dialysis clinical management; kidney stones; electrolyte disorders; hypertension
Prof. Dr. Yury Konyukhov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Functional Nanosystems and High-Temperature Materials, National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow, Russia
Interests: recycling of metallurgical wastes and mining tails; nanomaterials; structural and mechanical properties; high-temperature materials and processing; heavy-metal extraction from wastewater; magnetism studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Abhilash (Abe) Chandra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Vascular and General Surgeon, University of Adelaide and Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
2. Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Adelaide, SA 5095, Australia
Interests: sustainability; circular economy; industrial plastics; medical plastic waste; environmental protection; waste management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Waste management in the healthcare sector including hospitals, surgeries, polyclinics, nursing homes, medical laboratories, etc., has become a severe threat to the health of the community as well as those working in hospitals due to its inherent toxic and infectious nature. Hazardous as well as non-hazardous medical waste needs to be managed in a safe and sustainable manner. This includes disposable gloves, surgical instruments, needles, blood-stained bandages, infectious wastes, chemical wastes, radioactive wastes, laboratory equipment, and any waste generated during diagnosis, treatment, and immunization. Waste-disposal methods in different countries are likely to vary depending on the types of medical/hospital waste and their technology access level.

This Special Issue will be part of the section “Environmental Sustainability and Applications” of the journal Sustainability. We welcome the submission of high-quality research or review articles in the field. The focus will be on recent developments in the field including solid and liquid wastes, their collection, disposal, and processing in a cost-effective environmentally sustainable manner. The focus will be on mitigating various environmental issues and on steps taken to enhance the sustainability of current procedures and practices around the globe.

Indicative topics include, but are not limited to:

  • medical plastics;
  • impact of COVID-19 and associated wastes;
  • operating theatre/surgical waste;
  • biomedical hazardous waste;
  • solid/aquatic hospital waste;
  • recycling haemodialysis reject water;
  • recycling peritoneal dialysis plastics waste;
  • cancer treatment and associated wastes;
  • single use plastics/packaging waste;
  • other topics of interest in the field.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Rita Khanna
Dr. Shaundeep Sen
Prof. Dr. Yury Konyukhov
Prof. Dr. Abhilash (Abe) Chandra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • medical waste
  • hazardous waste
  • infectious waste
  • plastics waste
  • surgical waste
  • economic factors
  • technology upgrades
  • environmental impact
  • sustainability
  • developing countries

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

19 pages, 4640 KiB  
Article
Optical Material Recycling Practices: A Look at Portuguese Optical Centers
by Ana Paula Oliveira, Clara Martinez-Perez, Ana Barqueira, Cristina Alvarez-Peregrina and Miguel Ángel Sánchez-Tena
Sustainability 2024, 16(14), 5931; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16145931 - 11 Jul 2024
Viewed by 907
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the disposal practices of optical materials in Portuguese Optical Centers. Methods: This study, conducted in the Portuguese Optical Centers across 18 districts and 308 municipalities, divided the country into 4 regions for analysis. Utilizing Google Forms® [...] Read more.
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the disposal practices of optical materials in Portuguese Optical Centers. Methods: This study, conducted in the Portuguese Optical Centers across 18 districts and 308 municipalities, divided the country into 4 regions for analysis. Utilizing Google Forms®, a survey targeting Optical Center managers and related professionals was disseminated via email from February to May 2023, comprising 30 questions across 6 sections, including optical and contact lenses, maintenance solutions, eyeglass frames, and recycling participation. Data analysis employed IBM SPSS® Statistics v.27, using non-parametric tests for variable distribution. Ethical standards and privacy policies were strictly observed throughout the research process. Results: Findings indicated that there were significant differences in the final treatment of organic and mineral lenses. Organic lenses were placed in the yellow recycling bin (22.2%), while mineral lenses were placed in the green recycling bin (37.9%). In the case of contact lenses, regardless of the type (RGP, scleral lenses, conventional hydrogels, and silicone hydrogel lenses), the majority (>50%) were disposed of in general trash. Regarding eyeglass frames, there were no significant differences between mass and metal frames, mostly being discard in general waste (~30.0%). Conclusion: Approximately half of the surveyed Portuguese Optical Centers were not actively involved in recycling. This represents a missed opportunity for optometrists to play a role in enhancing recycling rates through patient education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Waste Management in the Healthcare Sector)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1312 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Waste Management in Orthopedic Healthcare Services
by Flaviu Moldovan and Liviu Moldovan
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 5214; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16125214 - 19 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1058
Abstract
It is estimated that globally medical surgical specialties, including orthopedics, produce large amounts of hospital waste. However, the possibilities of recycling materials are not well highlighted. Orthopedic hospitals can collect larger volumes of recyclables that could be kept out of landfills. The general [...] Read more.
It is estimated that globally medical surgical specialties, including orthopedics, produce large amounts of hospital waste. However, the possibilities of recycling materials are not well highlighted. Orthopedic hospitals can collect larger volumes of recyclables that could be kept out of landfills. The general objective of this study is to identify the categories and related amounts of waste and recyclable materials produced by the main types of medical interventions in orthopedics. The specific objective is to evaluate the amounts of waste produced in the preoperative and intraoperative periods, but also their recycling potential. For one month, we analyzed eight types of orthopedic medical interventions, of which five were surgical and three were nonsurgical. These were performed at the County Emergency Clinical Hospital of Targu Mures in Romania. For surgical interventions, the waste was collected separately in the preoperative and intraoperative periods. Waste was divided into recyclable, nonrecyclable, and biological categories. The waste bags were weighed with a portable scale. The main results are the average amounts of recyclable waste produced per case in the eight types of medical interventions. The secondary results show the average amounts per case of nonrecyclable, biological, and total waste. To test for statistically significant differences between the types of medical interventions, we performed an analysis of variance. Seventy-four cases were included in the study. An amount of 466.2 kg of waste was collected, with an average mass of 6.3 kg per case. During the preoperative period, 130.3 kg of waste was produced, of which 78% was recyclable. During the intraoperative period, 303.8 kg of waste was produced and only 11% was recyclable. Trauma surgery produced the largest amount of waste, followed by arthroplasty. A quarter of orthopedic waste is recyclable, and the greatest potential for recycling is preoperative waste, which can be effectively recycled at three-quarters. Through effective recycling programs, the ecological footprint of orthopedic–traumatology interventions can be reduced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Waste Management in the Healthcare Sector)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

23 pages, 540 KiB  
Review
Transforming Healthcare in Saudi Arabia: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Vision 2030’s Impact
by Zakaria A. Mani and Krzysztof Goniewicz
Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3277; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083277 - 15 Apr 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 15280
Abstract
This comprehensive rapid review meticulously evaluates the transformative influence of Vision 2030 on the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia. Vision 2030, with its broad scope, targets an extensive overhaul of healthcare through infrastructure enhancement, digital health adoption, workforce empowerment, innovative public health initiatives, [...] Read more.
This comprehensive rapid review meticulously evaluates the transformative influence of Vision 2030 on the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia. Vision 2030, with its broad scope, targets an extensive overhaul of healthcare through infrastructure enhancement, digital health adoption, workforce empowerment, innovative public health initiatives, and advancements in quality of care and patient safety. By employing a rigorous analytical approach, this review synthesizes a broad spectrum of data highlighting Saudi Arabia’s significant progress toward establishing an accessible, efficient, and superior healthcare system. It delves into the kingdom’s alignment with global healthcare trends and its distinctive contributions, notably in digital health and public health, illustrating a proactive stance on future healthcare challenges. The analysis rigorously explores Vision 2030’s ambitious objectives and the concrete outcomes achieved, providing deep insights into the evolving healthcare landscape in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it assesses the global ramifications of these reformative efforts, emphasizing the pivotal themes of innovation, equity, and excellence as the foundation for future healthcare advancements. This review not only sheds light on Vision 2030’s extensive impact on Saudi healthcare but also positions the kingdom as an exemplar of healthcare innovation and reform on the global stage, offering valuable lessons for healthcare policy and practice around the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Waste Management in the Healthcare Sector)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 1075 KiB  
Review
An Overview of Dental Solid Waste Management and Associated Environmental Impacts: A Materials Perspective
by Rita Khanna, Yuri Konyukhov, Nikita Maslennikov, Evgeny Kolesnikov and Igor Burmistrov
Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15953; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215953 - 15 Nov 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3453
Abstract
Dental healthcare plays an important role in the overall health of individuals, and the sector is rapidly growing around the world due to increases in population, healthcare facilities, and improved access for economically weaker sections of society. Dental procedures and oral care generate [...] Read more.
Dental healthcare plays an important role in the overall health of individuals, and the sector is rapidly growing around the world due to increases in population, healthcare facilities, and improved access for economically weaker sections of society. Dental procedures and oral care generate a significant amount of biomedical waste that should be managed in an environmentally safe and sustainable manner. An overview is presented of the current status of dental solid waste management with a focus on waste composition from traditional and emerging dental treatments, new-generation dental materials, waste treatment procedures, and current options. Dental waste can be broadly divided into three categories: infectious waste, non-infectious waste, and domestic-type waste. Infectious waste contains materials contaminated with blood or other infectious mouth fluids, amalgam, and sharps, whereas non-infectious dental waste is devoid of human fluid contamination but can be potentially toxic due to the presence of amalgams, acids, metal dust, resins, etc. Suspended particulates in dental wastewater are another likely source of contamination. Appropriate segregation of this waste is essential for containing infections during waste processing. New-generation dental materials, such as nanomaterials, resin-based composites, and ceramics, are finding increasing applications in a variety of dental procedures as antimicrobial, restorative, and therapeutic agents. While incineration and landfilling have been used for processing traditional dental waste, the presence of novel materials in dental waste raises several additional concerns. Novel single/multistage recycling approaches need to be developed for dental waste towards resource recovery, thus minimizing incineration and landfilling to the extent possible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Waste Management in the Healthcare Sector)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop