There is no doubt that the volume of plastic wastes from all our activities, including healthcare, include vast quantities of plastic wastes.  Inevitably, this comprises many different types of plastic some of which can be salvaged for reuse/recycling. From healthcare sources almost none of which can be recycled not least because in healthcare we generally don’t segregate plastic wastes at source.

But perhaps there is now a glimmer of hope. It is reported that science has uncovered enzymes produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa that can degrade plastics, or at least some common and widely used plastics including those found all too often in clinical and other healthcare wastes.

The enzyme(s) are being isolated and characterised but without doubt it is a long long way off for us all. But with hopes that this can be employed in the degradation of plastic wastes from landfill sites there is so much more to do. However, it offers that glimmer of hope that would make so much more of our waste-related problems.

Many aspects of medical care involve plastics, such as orthopaedic implants, catheters, dental implants and hydrogel pads for treating burns. The study suggests that a pathogen that can degrade the plastic in these devices could become a serious issue. This can make the treatment fail or make the patient’s condition worse. An ominous theory perhaps, but one that is surely most improbable. With much further study, the enzymatic degradation of plastic waste will become better understood. The practical and commercial advantages may be a long way off, but research if proceeding at pace. Watch this space.

https://theconversation.com/we-found-a-germ-that-feeds-on-hospital-plastic-new-study-256945

https://theconversation.com/we-found-a-germ-that-feeds-on-hospital-plastic-new-study-256945