Description of the status of medical plastic waste management and related factors at three hospitals in Vietnam in 2022

Abstract

A cross - sectional study was conducted to describe the current state of medical plastic waste management at three hospitals in Vietnam including Vietnam - Sweden Uong Bi Hospital, Binh Dinh Provincial General Hospital and Can Tho Central General Hospital. Data were collected using questionnaires. Regarding medical plastic waste management, all three hospitals have issued policies to encourage/ promote the reduction of plastic waste and have plans to reduce plastic waste at the hospital; all three hospitals have implemented at least one green procurement solution to reduce their plastic waste input. Consurning classification, collection and storage hospitals have used biodegradable plastic bags to store waste and classified, collected, and stored regular plastic waste separately for recycling; only 1 hospital has classified and separately collected some types of infectious plastic waste, then processed it into regular plastic waste and stored it separately. Regarding output management, 1/3 of hospitals have disinfected infectious plastic waste before handing it over to recycling collection units; All three hospitals have contracts to transfer regular plastic waste to collection units for recycling. In general, all three hospitals have had activities to reduce and manage medical plastic waste.