Published on Jan 11, 2026
A recent data-driven industry briefing, A Prescription for Change, led by Systemiq and partners, found that in just one year, healthcare in Europe and North America generated 2.1 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste, producing 9.3 million tonnes CO₂e and costing health systems nearly $56 billion. The report argues that safe, proven, and cost-saving interventions exist today and that urgent action is needed to decarbonise clinical plastics. That stark framing – health systems both causing and suffering the effects of plastic pollution – is the clearest, real-world signal yet that the medical sector must evaluate alternatives such as bioplastics. (SYSTEMIQ)
Below I use that report as the centrepiece and examine what the evidence says about bioplastics’ promise, the barriers to adoption in medicine, and what needs to happen next.
Why this matters now
The COVID era exposed how quickly clinical plastic volumes can surge: billions of PPE items, test kits and vaccine-related disposables added hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste and created new disposal pressures. Global health bodies have flagged the problem and urged systems-level reforms, including greener materials and closed-loop approaches. The environmental and human-health costs of plastics are now better quantified – with recent reviews linking plastic pollution to broad public-health burdens. (World Economic Forum)
Given the scale and cost highlighted by Systemiq, reducing the footprint of single-use medical plastics is no longer optional – it is a financial, regulatory and ethical imperative for health systems.
What bioplastics are — and what they could offer healthcare
“Bioplastics” is an umbrella term: plastics made from renewable biological feedstocks (like polylactic acid from maize) or polymers designed to biodegrade. Potential advantages for healthcare include:
But promise ≠ readiness – medical use demands validated sterility, consistent mechanical performance, and regulatory approval before substitution at scale. Recent systematic reviews show active research into circularising clinical plastics and testing new materials – but also underline that most bioplastics work remains at lab or pilot scale rather than broad clinical deployment. (ScienceDirect)
Where the evidence shows real potential
Research and modelling point to categories where bioplastics could realistically be introduced first:
The Systemiq briefing also highlights that switching materials must be combined with product redesign, reuse where possible, and improved procurement to realise cost and emissions benefits – material substitution alone is not a solution. (SYSTEMIQ)
The real barriers to clinical adoption
Several intersecting constraints slow adoption:
What systems-level changes would unlock scale
To move from pilots to systemwide adoption, stakeholders must act across the value chain:
Bottom line
Bioplastics present a real and necessary part of the toolkit for reducing healthcare’s plastics footprint – especially for packaging and selected single-use items. But their promise depends on coordinated action: robust clinical testing, regulatory clarity, procurement strategies that reward sustainability, and investment in disposal infrastructure. The Systemiq findings make this urgent: the costs of inaction are large, and tools to reduce dependence on fossil plastics are already at hand – but scaling them safely into medicine requires deliberate systems change. (SYSTEMIQ)
Learn more, join our webinar on ‘The Future of Bioplastics’
The webinar will explore materials, regulatory considerations, and case studies:
Register your place today: https://ipi.academy/product/details/3118/the-future-of-bioplastics-in-the-medical-industry
Resources
Published on Jan 11, 2026 by Ella Thomas