New XRay Products and Health Care Waste

As you can imagine, healthcare produces a lot of waste; an estimated 16,000 tonnes to landfill each day in New Zealand! I am fully aware that some of this is unavoidable for people’s safety such as hazardous waste and PPE and that healthcare is probably not the first place to start with reduction in waste when we have massive overconsumption of clothing and toys (see my other work running World Sustainable Toy Day for more on this!). But it is always interesting to consider what waste is produced and why, and if there are ways to avoid it.

A recently published study by The Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR) investigated food waste, anaesthetic gas use, unused medicines, home health care waste and more generally opinions and behaviours towards climate, carbon, and sustainability.

Many of the report’s findings showed that a lot of the waste created wasn’t being disposed of appropriately. For example “home care waste has appeared in recycling centres, with those facilities requiring closure for disinfection, resulting in costs to ratepayers and lost productivity hours, as well as creating more landfill as the waste cannot be recycled.” Another example is disposal of unused medications down household drains – this “has the potential to adversely affect the environment and public health such as the accumulation and spreading of antibiotic resistance”.

So while some healthcare waste is likely necessary, there are numerous ways to reduce the impact of the industry. Some things you can do include:

• Buy Medications Only When Necessary: Purchasing medications only when needed helps to minimize waste. This practice ensures that we are not contributing to excess packaging and unused pharmaceuticals.
• Proper Disposal of Unused or Expired Medications: Residents can take their unused or expired medications to local pharmacies for eco-friendly disposal. Many pharmacies offer programs for safe medication disposal, preventing harmful substances from entering landfills or waterways.
• Support Sustainable Brands: Choose healthcare and personal care products from companies that prioritize sustainable practices and eco-friendly packaging. For example Solid Oral Care have toothpaste in returnable jars!
• Use Reusables: Opt for reusable items such as cloth masks instead of single-use masks.

Our latest product range is made from discarded XRay film! 

We were recently given some old XRay film to find a use for and I was so excited when I discovered it can be laser cut! To ensure that some of the details of the XRay show up in the products, I decided on bookmarks, which are larger than our usual earrings. But once I got started, I couldn't resist making some Pekapeka Bat earrings too!

The plastic film is made of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and is very readily recyclable but due to the addition of other materials (such as silver), there are only a couple of places in NZ that recycle XRay film and generally they are for medical facilities.

Check out our YouTube and TikTok for some videos on how these are made!