The Environmental Impacts of Disposable Nonwoven Fabrics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Case Study on the Francesc de Borja Hospital
[EN] Hospitals generate huge amounts of nonwoven residues daily. This paper focused on studying the evolution of nonwoven waste generated in the Francesc de Borja Hospital, Spain, over the last few years and its relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective was to identify the most impacting...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) |
| Repositorio: | RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/204781 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/204781 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Hospital waste Nonwoven fabrics Plastic waste Carbon footprint LCA COVID-19 FISICA APLICADA 09.- Desarrollar infraestructuras resilientes, promover la industrialización inclusiva y sostenible, y fomentar la innovación 12.- Garantizar las pautas de consumo y de producción sostenibles 17.- Fortalecer los medios de ejecución y reavivar la alianza mundial para el desarrollo sostenible |
| Sumario: | [EN] Hospitals generate huge amounts of nonwoven residues daily. This paper focused on studying the evolution of nonwoven waste generated in the Francesc de Borja Hospital, Spain, over the last few years and its relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective was to identify the most impacting pieces of nonwoven equipment in the hospital and to analyze possible solutions. The carbon footprint of the nonwoven equipment was studied through a life-cycle assessment. The results showed an apparent increase in the carbon footprint in the hospital from 2020. Additionally, due to the higher annual volume, the simple nonwoven gown used primarily for patients had a higher carbon footprint over a year than the more sophisticated surgical gowns. It can be concluded that developing a local circular economy strategy for medical equipment could be the solution to avoid the enormous waste generation and the carbon footprint of nonwoven production. |
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