The healthcare sector seen through the circular economy

There was a time  when it seemed that there no limit to production and consumption. Fortunately, the economic model based on the old adage that affirms that “more is always more” is now history. The challenges that climate change has imposed and the wishes for transformation by a population that is increasingly committed to protecting our planet is encouraging the move from a linear economy (based on produce-consume-dispose) to a circular economy (with criteria such as sharing, renting, reusing, repairing and renewing.)

Back in 2020, the new European Union Circular Economy Plan of Action was published and the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy ‘España Circular 20230’ was passed by the Council of Ministers. The essential goals of these initiatives can be summarised in three essential ideas: we need the products, materials and resources to be maintained in the economy for as long as possible, for the generation of waste to be reduced as much as possible and the waste that is unavoidable to be correctly used.

But this, without any doubt, is not easy, as it demands a series of deep-rooted changes that particularly affect the sectors considered to be strategic, such as consumer goods, automotive industry, infrastructures, logistic and transport or tourism and public services.

The forecast for 2050

The waste that is produced in the households and companies continues to rise. Every year around the world over 2,000 million tonnes of solid urban waste are generated. The forecast, if we don’t take steps very quickly, is that in 2050 this will increase by over 50%, until reaching 3,800 million tonnes per year.  

As is explained on the World Economic Forum’s website (WEF), this “is bad news for the Earth, because the waste contributes to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss of biodiversity and contamination.”  

Fortunately, we are still in time to react. According to the WEF, if the entire world makes a categorical commitment towards an approach based on the circular economy, in 2050, the abovementioned volume of waste could be reduced by up to 2,500 million. Additionally, in the long-term, this new model would allow the costs of waste management to be decreased compared to the current procedures.

The impact of healthcare on the planet

The healthcare area is, as explained by Rubén Aller, a consultant specialising in circular economy in healthcare, one of the areas that must face up to the most important challenges. As is known, the correct working of a hospital for a long time has involved high energy consumption, as well as a considerable carbon footprint. 

“In fact, even now, medical care causes 5% of the world greenhouse effect gas emissions. If the healthcare sector were to be considered as a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter of the planet,” Aller explains. This means drastic steps must be taken that allow quality healthcare to be guaranteed, while reducing the impact on the environment as much as possible. As Aller affirms: “We have to act and we must do it now.”