Rethink e-waste in healthcare and life sciences

The unintended environmental tradeoff of digital transformation and what organisations are doing about it

As many industries push forward towards zero-waste initiatives, healthcare and life science organisations face pressure to drive results through digital innovation.

Unfortunately, this digital effort results in an unintended environmental tradeoff. In 2019, 54 million metric tonnes of “e-waste” was generated worldwide. Right now, it’s hard to say exactly how much e-waste healthcare is generating, but it isn’t difficult to consider the scope of its impact. E-waste is a broad category that includes: computer components, cellphones, tablets, batteries and resistors, and a number of medical devices. Think of everything from electrocardiogram machines to lab analysers to imaging equipment (x-ray, CT scanners, MRI and ultrasound). That’s before we even consider the Internet of things. There’s nowhere in healthcare where the question of waste may be more pertinent than the “internet of medical things.”According to Frost & Sullivan, 2020 was the predicted year where there would be up to 30 billion connected and medical devices in the healthcare ecosystem. Given what we now know about the impact of e-waste on the planet and on human health, it's time to take action.

Check out this two-part podcast series where Corporate Responsibility expert Kevin Hagen and IT Asset Disposition expert Brooks Hoffman explore the environmental impact of technology, discuss e-waste related social and environmental challenges, and reimagine how IT Assets Disposition can be utilised to reduce e-waste, advance the circular economy, and drive meaningful business outcomes.

Part 1

 Part 2