Recycling of medical plastics
Open accessAbstract
A large amount of non-infected plastic wastes are being generated at the healthcare facilities all over the world. However, only a small fraction is recycled. Conventionally, the used plastics are either disposed in landfills or inadequately incinerated. These practices impart an adverse effect on our environment. Plastics are indispensable part of the medical sector owing to their high versatility. The outbreak of COVID-19 clearly showed the growing demand for single use plastics. Hence, completely avoiding plastics can be challenging at this point of time. Recycling of plastics is undoubtedly a solution to solve the crisis of plastic pollution. Medical plastic recycling is limited mainly due to difficulties involved in sorting or cleaning. Recycling medical plastic wastes is possible only through proper coordination between healthcare sector and recycling industries. New recycling technologies are to be adopted in a sustainable manner. Moreover, the plastics used in medical applications should be designed such that recycling is possible. This review highlights the downside of medical wastes and discusses the recycling potential of commonly used medical plastics.
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Combustion of plastics typically releases harmful gases, which can be mitigated through methods such as addition of activated carbon, acid neutralization, and ammonia injection into the combustion chamber.
“Combustion typically releases harmful gases, which can be mitigated through various methods such as the addition of activated carbon, acid neutralization, and ammonia injection into the combustion chamber [48].”
From Transforming Plastic Waste into Value: A Review of Management Strategies and Innovative Applications in Sustainable Construction (2025) · cites this paper as [48]
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Plastic Waste Recycling, Applications, and Future Prospects for a Sustainable Environment
Maitlo, G., Ali, I., Maitlo, H. A., Ali, S., Unar, I. N., Ahmad, M. B., Bhutto, D. K., Karmani, R. K., Naich, S. U. R., Sajjad, R. U., et al. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su141811637 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
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“[35] focused on non-infected plastic wastes generated at healthcare facilities, proving that this type of waste is either disposed of in landfills or inadequately incinerated.”
BackgroundHaba, B., Djellali, S., Abdelouahed, Y., Boudjelida, S., Faleschini, F., & Carraro, M. (2025) · Polymers · doi:10.3390/polym17070881 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
- Authors
- Joseph, B., James, J., Kalarikkal, N., & Thomas, S.
- Affiliations
- Mahatma Gandhi University (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Thomas, Sabu
- Venue
- Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-07
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 199-208
- ISSN
- 2542-5048 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3177211565
- Cited by
- 195
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 24.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Healthcare and Environmental Waste Management
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Waste Management and Recycling
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Polymer crystallization and properties
- Keywords
- medical plastic waste, single-use plastics, COVID-19 pandemic, plastic pollution, medical waste management, recycling technology
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