Afon Technology are improving the environmental impact of continuous glucose monitors (CGM) through the development of their Glucowear™.
The Covid-19 pandemic increased the visibility of medical waste products and pollution as the use of disposable facemasks and gloves became prevalent in our lives.
Before 2020 however, the staggering amount of pollution that comes from medical waste had not gone unnoticed.
Around the world, governments, healthcare workers and patients themselves are questioning the amount of medical waste produced; especially through the reliance on single-use plastics. In this article we will take a look at how healthcare and medical equipment harms the environment. We’ll also include information on the waste produced by Diabetes technology.
How Does The Healthcare Sector Contribute To Pollution?
Overall, the global health sector is responsible for 4.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Most of this comes from the supply chain however, disposables and pharmaceuticals are also large contributors. According to a British Medical Association (BMA) study of General Practice, between 65% and 90% of the carbon footprint in general practices comes from pharmaceutical prescribing.
This BBC article explains that the amount of greenhouse gases the healthcare industry emits, would make it the fifth-largest emitter in the world, if it were a country. Another astonishing problem is that air pollution-related deaths kill more than four million people a year. This is more than tuberculosis, malaria and Aids combined.
Included in pollution is the medical waste created by single-use disposables and treatments, especially anything with plastic in. A reliance on plastics in general, and inappropriate disposal, has seen 50% – 80% of debris on shorelines be made of plastic. In the UK, gloves, tubing and blood sample tubes are some of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions from the NHS.
Single use plastics can be seen as convenient and good for infection control. This is being countered by information such as one operation in the UK using 101 different single-use plastics. In the US, it’s been found that the second most common operation for women, a hysterectomy, generates 9kg of plastic waste.
How Does Diabetes Technology Create Waste?
There are an estimated 537 million adults in the world living with Diabetes. Modern Diabetes management relies on many different products such as test strips, syringes, insulin pens, tubes, and CGM devices.
Waste is created through the individual plastic packaging, alongside the packaging for transport and manufacturing. Transportation of the products around the world contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
A helpful example is given in The Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. In an article by Professor Lutz Heinemann, PhD and Professor David C. Klonoff, MD called Diabetes Technology and Waste: A Complex Story. They explain that if an inserter for a glucose sensor contains 80g of plastic, and the sensor needs to be replaced every 10-14 days, millions of sensors are being thrown away into the general waste of the patient’s homes. The handling of this waste is made more complicated because Diabetes technology often has electronic components. They can also be biohazard risks which means incineration is often the preferred method of disposal. Incineration of course, contributes to air pollution and energy use.
Without a dedicated recycling system for Diabetes technology, what can be done to reduce the waste?
The Future of Continuous Glucose Monitors
CGM’s have a had a significant impact in improving the management of Diabetes. However they still involve the use of needles penetrating the skin. Plus, the use of medical glues causes skin irritation in some users. Afon Technology’s Glucowear™ is a 3rd generation, wrist- worn, real-time CGM that is totally non-invasive so there are, no needles, no pain and no delay in detecting blood glucose as seen with some CGMs.
Afon Technology’s Glucowear™ is designed to last two years. This is a key feature for having a more positive environmental impact than other CGM’s available. A lifetime of two years eliminates around 50 sensors if they are replaced every 14 days. It will come in sustainably sourced and recyclable packaging to further reduce the carbon footprint and potentially save around 23kg of CO2 per person using Glucowear™ over two years.
The amount of plastic that Glucowear™ contains is also minimal compared with other CGM’s. A longer lasting CGM made of less plastic will mean a significant saving on CO2 emissions. The future of CGM’s is Afon Technology’s Glucowear™.
Improving the Environmental Impact of CGM’s FAQs
How do traditional CGM devices and other diabetes management tools contribute to environmental waste?
Diabetes requires a frequent use of tools to manage, with some needed several times a day, such as blood test strips, and others such as CGMs, that need replacing every 14 days. The disposable nature of these tools mean they are thrown away after one use, along with their plastic packaging, which contributes hugely to environmental waste.
What impact does medical waste have on carbon emissions?
The NHS states that the 156,000 tonnes of clinical waste it generates each year has a significant impact on carbon emissions, with the highest carbon footprint coming from high temperature incineration of contaminated medical waste.
How is plastic waste generated specifically by diabetes devices, and why is it problematic?
Plastic waste is generated through disposable systems of self-monitoring, continuous monitoring, syringes, insulin pens, insulin pumps, and packaging. In their study Diabetes Technology and Waste: A Complex Story Professor David C Klonoff and Professor Lutz Heinemann found that a diabetes device may have packaging that takes up 90% of the total weight because so much is used, much of which cannot be recycled.
What makes Afon Technology’s Glucowear™ more environmentally friendly compared to traditional CGMs?
Sustainable packaging that can be recycled, as well as marked reduction in how much plastic goes into creating Glucowear™ is key to a more environmentally friendly diabetes management device. The two-year lifespan will further reduce the contribution to environmental waste from disposable one-time-use products.
