Clinical plastic waste quantification in a university dental clinic in Peru

Abstract: Purpose: To quantify the plastic waste (PW) generated in undergraduate clinical care in a private university dental centre in Peru. Material and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study determined the amount of PW from five clinical and one radiology section produced according to the type of care (n = 7) and procedure (n = 21) observed in 40 dental units (DUs) over 19 days in 2023. The PW were characterized in type, composition, number and weight. Results were projected by year and analysed with the Kruskal-Wallis test using R software at P < 0.05. Results: The annual PW projection was 4254.86 ± 2498.14 kg with 22.2 ± 18.5% constituted by DUs protective film. The mean number units of PW per patient was 18.6 ± 15.53 pcs and 126.69±166.15 g, which was increased in paediatric dentistry (25.33 pcs) and periodontics (278.94 g) (P ≤ 0.0002). The PW was distributed into 53 types, pure composition (65.3%), mainly gloves (21.4%), sterilisation packaging (10.6%) and standard dental bibs (9.8%), and in weights including disposable aprons (31.3%), gloves (21.4%) and standard dental bibs (11.2%). Conclusion: The greatest amount and weight of PW generated by undergraduate university dental care was found in paediatric dentistry and periodontics, involving personal protective equipment, sterilisation packaging and dental protective film. These results indicate the need to establish actions to reduce waste and increase awareness to help reduce environmental effects.