Researchers Discuss Reducing Healthcare Plastic Waste
Topics included circular economy approaches to healthcare waste, using anthropological research to address practical challenges in healthcare, and developing joint publications and policy recommendations.
Hyderabad:The growing use of single-use plastics in healthcare and the challenge of managing medical waste were the focus of an international research workshop hosted by the University of Hyderabad. The five-day meeting was the second collaborative gathering of After the Single Use: Rethinking Plastics in Health Care, a Wellcome Trust-funded project. It brought together researchers from partner institutions in India, the UK, the US, Switzerland, Norway, Tanzania, Senegal, Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Led by the University of Edinburgh, the project includes Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the University of Geneva, the University of Oslo, Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research, the Centre Régional de Recherche et de Formation à la Prise en Charge de Fann in Dakar, the University of New South Wales, the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research and the University of Hyderabad. Representatives of Health Care Without Harm and Norway’s Bioart Arena also joined the discussions.
Researchers reviewed progress at project sites, shared emerging findings and discussed ways to strengthen collaboration across disciplines. Topics included circular economy approaches to healthcare waste, using anthropological research to address practical challenges in healthcare, and developing joint publications and policy recommendations.
The programme also included a public lecture on interdisciplinary approaches to the future of medical plastics. Speakers were Professor Alice Street of the University of Edinburgh, Professor Anne Helene Kveim Lie of the University of Oslo, Dr Peter Mangesho of Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research and Dr Nanda Kishore Kannuri of the University of Hyderabad.
The workshop was inaugurated by University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor Professor J. Anuradha. Faculty members and research administrators, including School of Social Sciences Dean Professor Suneetha Rani, also attended.
Participants discussed how to share findings with policymakers, manufacturers, healthcare institutions and community organisations. They also considered region-specific ways to translate the research into practical action across partner countries.
