Building green design methodologies for hospital disposables manufacturers. Promoting design tools for LCA.

Waste management in healthcare system plays a primary role due to their complex composition and risks related to workers, patients and environment. Many groups have begun to understand the need to change the system but despite the growing attention, there is an urgent need for a sustainable health care system. The sustainability concepts allow designers to take actions ranging from a "design" of the product from the perspective of waste in the choice of materials, through an information and staff training, optimizing the management system. Systemic Design methods helped to involve the business team in the use of practices and strategies to be applied in contexts of production use and disposal. Research began from the need to have an overview of the types of disposables produced according to their polymers, weight and the best practices. Results were quantification and detection of problems to be solved by strategies aimed at reducing the polymers types used in the product production.