How Should US Health Care Lead Global Change in Plastic Waste Disposal?

Abstract

Disposal of health care waste is one of the biggest threats to global sustainable health care. Current practices of dumping domestic and international health care waste into the earth's terra firma and oceans also undermine global health equity by adversely affecting the health of vulnerable communities. While the United Kingdom works toward circular health care economy streams that produce minimal waste, the United States continues to amplify downstream environmental and health effects of health care organizational waste management decisions. This article suggests how to reframe social and ethical responsibility for health care waste production and management by assigning strict accountability to health care organizational leaders, incentivizing circular supply chain implementation and maintenance, and encouraging strong collaborations across medical, plastic, and waste industries.