Gut Liver.
2025 Jan;19(1):43-49. 10.5009/gnl240209.
Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon Footprint
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- 2Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- 3Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- 4Department of Internal Medicine, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea
- 5Department of Internal Medicine, Cha Bundang Medical Center, Cha University, Seongnam, Korea
- 6Department of Internal Medicine, Bundang Jesaeng General Hospital, Seongnam, Korea
- 7Department of Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea
- KMID: 2564732
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.5009/gnl240209
Abstract
- Background/Aims
Although gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) is a major contributor to the carbon footprint of national healthcare, the amount of medical waste generated by GIE procedures is not reported in South Korea. This study aimed to measure the amount of medical waste generated from GIE procedures in South Korea.
Methods
We conducted a 5-day audit of medical waste generated during GIEs at seven hospitals. During the study period, medical waste in the endoscopy examination rooms was measured twice daily and documented as mass (kg). To calculate the mean mass of disposable waste generated during one esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and one colonoscopy, the mean mass of medical waste generated from seven examinations was calculated. The mean mass of medical waste generated during GIEs was calculated by dividing the total mass of medical waste generated by the number of GIE procedures.
Results
Overall, 3,922 endoscopies were performed and 4,558 kg of waste was generated. The mean weight of medical waste generated per endoscopy was 1.34 kg. Each EGD and colonoscopy generated a mean of 0.24 kg and 0.43 kg of disposable waste, respectively. Applying the mean waste estimates from this study to annual GIE procedures performed in South Korea in 2022 showed that the total medical waste produced from GIE was 13,704,453 kg. In addition, the total masses of medical waste produced during EGD and colonoscopy procedures were 819,766 kg and 2,889,478 kg, respectively.
Conclusions
Our quantitative measurement showed that a large amount of medical waste is generated from GIE procedures. However, further research is warranted to reduce medical waste generated during GIE, which is an urgent unmet need.
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