Single-use plastics - medical version.

[agoodwinsmith]

I was/am astonished at how much plastic waste was generated by my three visits to the hospital. It is plastic and metal[2], of course, but there is such a lot of it. Each item is individually packed in a hygienic plastic covering, and each item is made mostly of plastic. There were needles, and the sockets they fit into in IVs and whatnot. There were stickie disks for each type of monitor.[1] There were pill packs - each pill individually wrapped. Each swab, flat or on a stick, was individually wrapped. I am sure I have forgotten things.

So - if we are going to get more restrictive about single-use plastics, we're going to have to look at our medical practices - especially since the sipping-coffee-through-a-straw-in-a-plastic-cup-while-carrying-one-perfect-organic-grocery-item-home-in-a-plastic-bag boomers[3] are all aging into increased medical care.

[1] - at one point in emerg I felt like prime real estate - everyone kept removing the stickers placed by the last person in order to place their own for their machines (my poor skin).

[2] - aside from needle points, each electrode disk has a small metal snap in the middle for the electrode wire to clip to.

[3] - boomer here. In general I use about five plastic straws a year - I am too cheap to buy many tasty-tasty drinks while out. I have plastic straws at home that I bought about 20 years ago when I had fantasies about inviting people over for meals outside (the straws needed to match the melamine dishes, doncherknow), which I have never remembered to use.

Comments

[jessie_c]

Single use packaging has done wonders for maintaining sterile technique. It's also done wonders for the plastic packaging industry's bottom line. Funny how Hospitals used to have no trouble maintaining sterile technique when they didn't have everything individually wrapped to within an inch of its life? Of course, they used to have to pay the technicians who sterilised everything so there's a point they can make, but they also didn't have to buy everything brand new every time they want to use it either.

[ranunculus]

Not to mention that lots of the "wrapped to within an inch of it's life" products are a "set" of instruments, not all of which might be necessary. I have two such in my medicine cabinet.