From incineration to circularity: life cycle assessment of non- infectious hospital pvc plastic waste recycling options

Abstract

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is widely used in healthcare due to its sterility, flexibility, durability, and low cost; however, management of non-infectious medical PVC waste creates growing environmental and economic challenges, particularly in urban healthcare systems where high temperature incineration remains the dominant disposal method. This study evaluates sustainable management pathways for non-infectious medical PVC waste generated in Bangkok, Thailand, by integrating Material Flow Analysis (MFA), Gate-to-Grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and operational cost analysis. Four waste management case scenarios were assessed: transportation and incineration (Case Scenario 1), hospital-based segregation and cleaning prior to recycling (Case Scenario 2), centralized preprocessing through an intermediate facility followed by recycling (Case Scenario 3), and direct recycling after cleaning and sorting at a recycling facility (Case Scenario 4). Environmental performance was evaluated across 18 midpoint impact categories, identifying climate change, fossil fuel depletion, and human toxicity as dominant impacts. The baseline incineration system produced the highest environmental burden, generating approximately 2.105 kg CO₂-eq per kg of PVC waste. Recycling case scenarios converted net positive emissions into environmental credits, reduced fossil resource consumption through avoided virgin PVC production, and minimized human toxicity impacts. Operational cost analysis showed a reduction in net annual costs from 195,235 THB/year under incineration to approximately 51,491 THB/year in Case Scenario 3. Overall, early segregation combined with centralized preprocessing and recycling provides the most sustainable and economically efficient pathway toward circular healthcare waste management.