Environmental Performance of Alternative Hospital Waste Management Strategies Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Approach

Abstract

The growing population in urban areas generates large volumes of hospital waste which intensifies the problem of hospital waste management in developing countries. This study is designed to evaluate environmental impacts associated with hospital waste management scenarios using life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Two scenarios were designed to describe the current practices: (scenario A) and an integrated approach (scenario B), which includes segregation and recycling of hospital waste. Data were collected from five public hospitals located in the district of Sheikhupura, Pakistan. The collected hospital waste was quantified and categorized on a daily basis for five consecutive months (October 2020 to February 2021). The functional unit was defined as one tonne of hospital waste. System boundaries for two scenarios include segregation, transportation, treatment and disposal of hospital waste. After defining functional unit and system boundaries, LCA was conducted using the IGES-GHG simulator. The scenarios were evaluated using common parameter, i.e., greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Scenario A and scenario B resulted in net GHG emissions of 1078.40 kg CO2-eq. per tonne of waste and 989.31 kg CO2-eq. per tonne of waste, respectively. Applying an integrated approach, it would be possible to mitigate GHG emissions of 37,756.44 kg CO2-eq. per tonne of waste annually and to recover some materials such as glass, paper, plastic and metals. Therefore, implementing an integrated approach for the management of hospital waste will progress the entire system towards sustainability. The findings of this study can be used for future research and policymaking.