Application of life cycle assessment for hospital solid waste management: A case study

ABSTRACT

This study was meant to determine environmental aspects of hospital waste management scenarios using a life cycle analysis approach. The survey for this study was conducted at the largest hospital in a major city of Pakistan. The hospital was thoroughly analyzed from November 2014 to January 2015 to quantify its wastes by category. The functional unit of the study was selected as 1 tonne of disposable solid hospital waste. System boundaries included transportation of hospital solid waste and its treatment and disposal by landfilling, incineration, composting, and material recycling methods. These methods were evaluated based on their greenhouse gas emissions. Landfilling and incineration turned out to be the worst final disposal alternatives, whereas composting and material recovery displayed savings in emissions. An integrated system (composting, incineration, and material recycling) was found as the best solution among the evaluated scenarios. This study can be used by policymakers for the formulation of an integrated hospital waste management plan.

Implications: This study deals with environmental aspects of hospital waste management scenarios. It is an increasing area of concern in many developing and resource-constrained countries of the world. The life cycle analysis (LCA) approach is a useful tool for estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from different waste management activities. There is a shortage of information in existing literature regarding LCA of hospital wastes. To the best knowledge of the authors this work is the first attempt at quantifying the environmental footprint of hospital waste in Pakistan.

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the support extended by China Specialized Research Fund for Doctoral Program of Higher Education [20120092110039]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [71172044 and 71273047] and Major Program of National Social Science Foundation of China [12&ZD207]. The authors would also like to thank the management at DHQ for their kind support and cooperation during the survey.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the support extended by China Specialized Research Fund for Doctoral Program of Higher Education [20120092110039]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [71172044 and 71273047] and Major Program of National Social Science Foundation of China [12&ZD207]. The authors would also like to thank the management at DHQ for their kind support and cooperation during the survey.

Notes on contributors

Mustafa Ali

Mustafa Ali is a final year PhD student at the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Southeast University, Nanjing, China.

Wenping Wang

Wenping Wang is a Professor of Management Science & Engineering at Southeast University, Nanjing, China.

Nawaz Chaudhry

Nawaz Chaudhry is Professor Emeritus at College of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.