Brighton study reveals sobering scale of carbon footprint from pandemic PPE

According to a paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the carbon footprint of personal protective equipment (PPE) provided to health and social care staff in England just during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic was equivalent to flying from London to New York 244 times every day.

The study, carried out in collaboration with Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, found that the 3 billion items of PPE used from February to July last year generated 591 tonnes of CO2 a day - around 27,000 times the average individual’s carbon footprint. The 1.8 billion gloves used had the biggest environmental impact, followed by aprons, face shields and masks.

On a more positive note, the study found a range of strategies that could slash this environmental impact, while maintaining staff and patient safety. These included increased UK manufacture, reusing items like gowns and face shields where possible, plus recycling PPE waste. But the biggest impact would be through reducing volumes of PPE used - for example, by using hand-washing instead of wearing gloves.

Chantelle Rizan

Chantelle Rizan, Clinical Teaching Fellow at BSMS and research fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, led the study. She said: “COVID-19 has impacted many aspects of life. Ours is the first study to look at the environmental harm of using PPE on such scale, and the results are concerning. However, a combination of strategies could have reduced the carbon footprint by 75%. We are not advocating actions that could increase risk of infection. However, guidelines around use of PPE aren’t always consistent or up to date with the latest science. It may be perfectly safe to wash hands rather than use gloves in many situations, and that is something that needs further exploration.”

Professor Neil Mortensen, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “It’s clear the virus will be with us for some time yet, so the need for PPE to keep staff and patients safe is still paramount. But the findings of this new study are sobering, and we must also consider how to reduce the environmental impact of PPE, including making greater use of reusable items or how PPE and other plastic healthcare waste can be recycled.”