This blog shares insights from CRCF’s research at Fann Hospital in Senegal, following the routes that healthcare waste takes after use and examining the everyday systems that shape its management. Looking beyond the point of disposal, the piece reflects on how single-use medical materials move through hospital infrastructures, and what these movements reveal about care, responsibility and environmental impact.

Eloïse Richards presented ‘Behind the White Coat: Cleaning and Sterilizing Hospital Textiles in the Early 20th Century’ at the international conference ‘A History of Textile Cleanliness’, exploring the labour, infrastructure, and material practices that supported hospital care before the widespread turn to disposability.

Bruno Strasser presented ‘Talking Trash — The Rise of Throwaway Medical Culture in the Age of Plastics’ at the Leuven Centre for Health Humanities, exploring how single-use medical devices transformed hospital care in the second half of the twentieth century.

Dani Farrow presented After the Single Use research at a national NHS Scotland Sustainable Delivery Group meeting, contributing to discussions on reducing single-use plastics across Scottish healthcare.

A new Deconstructing Devices video explores the material composition of a single IV catheter, revealing the multiple plastic components and hidden infrastructures embedded within everyday medical devices.

Jeremy Greene presented ‘After the Single Use: Rethinking the Role of Single-Use Plastics in Healthcare’ as part of the Rutgers IFH 2026 seminar series.