Healthcare waste generation in hospitals per continent: a systematic review

There are increasing worldwide concerns about the negative impacts of healthcare waste generated in hospitals, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Hazardous type of waste can contribute to adverse effects both in human populations and the environment because of its physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. A comprehensive view on increasing waste in the world has not been conducted to understand the breadth of the issue; thus, this paper sought to provide an analysis of hospitals’ healthcare waste generation rate. Comparisons were made with Wilcoxon and Kruskal–Wallis tests for simple and multiple comparisons, to analyze nonparametric data, with post hoc by Nemenyi test. Median values indicated that hospital waste was the highest in North and South America (4.42, 1.64 kg/bed/day, respectively) and was almost nonexistent in Oceania (0.19 kg/bed/day), while the median rates for hazardous waste were the highest in Oceania (0.77 kg/bed/day). Africa was almost the lowest producer of waste in each category (0.19 and 0.39 kg/bed/day for hospital and hazardous waste, respectively). Over time, linear regression indicated that hazardous waste in Asia and Europe has increased, while in Oceania, the total waste also increased. Interestingly, in North America, it was observed a reduction in the generation for both total and hazardous waste. This information highlights the importance of understanding continent-specific characteristics and rates, which can be used to create a more individualized approach to addressing healthcare waste in the world.