Circular economy in the Healthcare Sector in Catalonia
The Circular Economy in the healthcare sector project led by Club EMAS in Catalonia aims to identify the main challenges and opportunities of the circular economy in the healthcare sector and to shed light on how to overcome the barriers to making the sector more circular. At the same time, the project aims to identify what is needed to update the healthcare waste regulation in Catalonia which dates back to 1999.
This project aims to carry out a study on how to transfer the concept of the circular economy and symbiosis to the healthcare sector by creating a joint workspace - with a holistic approach - for healthcare centres, competent administrations, waste managers and manufacturers or suppliers of healthcare products. The final output of the project will be a sectoral study mapping the state of play and putting forward proposals for the future.
The project also includes a work package regarding the collection of data and information about consumption of materials and waste generation. The aim is to identify trends and potential improvements and to make it possible to obtain and share data to allow comparisons among healthcare centres.
The results will be presented at the end of the project. Some are available already:
The project has brought together over 170 representatives from various organisations to discuss how the healthcare sector can become more circular.
It has identified:
- common barriers with other European countries.
- interesting initiatives that could inspire other healthcare organisations and policymakers when developing or updating waste legislation.
- innovative projects and initiatives that could be replicated.
- synergies that could be developed among stakeholders (for example a pilot project for recycling serum bottles).