Earth Day 2025: How health care can help heal our environment

The United States health care delivery system is an incredible force for good and healing. An estimated 17 million individuals are employed in health care, including nearly 1 million active physicians and more than 4 million nurses. Every day, they work tirelessly to provide care to countless patients facing injury, illness or other urgent medical needs.

At the same time, our health care system must wrestle with a difficult reality: A system built on caring and healing is also a leading factor contributing to environmental waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Earth Day 2025 is an opportunity to begin building a better, more sustainable future for patients and the environment.

One of the more common health care products found in landfills is disposable personal protective equipment (PPE), including isolation gowns. In recent decades, hospitals and other health care facilities have grown increasingly dependent on disposable products, moving away from linens, textiles and PPE that can be hygienically cleaned and reused. The environmental impact has been disastrous.

Today, between 80% and 90% of all health care textiles in the U.S. are disposable, tossed into the trash after a single use. Hospitals generate 29 pounds of waste per bed per day and 5 million tons of waste each year, reports Practice Greenhealth. It’s estimated that 70% of health care waste comes from operating rooms. If the health care sector were a country, it would be one of the top 15 largest greenhouse gas emitters on the planet.

According to Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency room physician and expert on public health, “It should be a major concern to the health care industry that medical care itself is perpetuating the climate crisis.” Unfortunately, the crisis is perpetuated by a common misbelief that disposable textiles are safer and more cost-effective to use. They aren’t.

Research shows that hospitals that switched to reusable health care textiles experienced significant savings, including more than 50% savings for isolation gowns and up to 90% savings for products like surgical gowns and incontinence pads. Meanwhile, a 2020 study found reusable gowns outperformed disposables in preventing the spread of dangerous liquids.

Misinformation isn’t the only reason many providers rely on single-use PPE. It’s embedded in their procurement process. Hospitals work with group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to acquire products, such as PPE, and this process has long favored buying goods in bulk rather than contracting with professional laundry providers for hygienically clean reusable linens and PPE.

If we continue the status quo, we will continue to miss one of the best opportunities to deliver lifesaving care in a way that is more environmentally sustainable. One study published in the AORN Journal found reusable gowns reduced energy consumption by 64%, greenhouse gas emissions by 66% and solid waste generation by 84%.

It makes sense when you consider that one reusable gown can replace up to 75 disposable gowns, and for every 1,000 gowns, single-use garments generate 705 pounds of waste compared to just 83 pounds of waste for hygienically clean reusable gowns.

Fortunately, the health care community is starting to realize that what’s stocked on their supply shelves can impact not only the bottom line, but the health of our planet too. After switching to reusable textiles, the University of Maryland Medical Center saved nearly $40,000 and avoided disposing 70 tons of waste each year. The Carilion Clinic in Virginia made the switch, and over a three-year period, eliminated nearly 260 tons of waste and saved more than $850,000.

All health care providers have a responsibility to diversify their supply of linens, textiles and PPE. One important step is to require GPOs to solicit procurement proposals from commercial laundry providers who are certified in hygienically clean laundry. This simple change would help lower operating costs and improve the quality of care with the least environmental harm.

Policymakers also have an important role to play by encouraging the entire industry to adopt meaningful change. For example, New York is considering legislation that would set a 50% threshold for reusable textiles. California is expected to take up a similar proposal. And there is growing interest in Washington, D.C., for a national standard that would encourage wider adoption of reusable PPE in health care.

This year’s Earth Day reminds us that small steps can lead to big change. America’s health care providers help save countless lives every day — and now they have a unique opportunity to help save the environment. By embracing reusables and reducing reliance on disposables, the health care industry can lead the way toward a cleaner, healthier future.

Joseph Ricci serves as the president and CEO of the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) of America, a position he has held since 2010.