The Plastic Hospital: After the Single Use panel at EAHMH 2025

After the Single Use researchers organised a panel at the 2025 European Association for the History of Medicine and Health (EAHMH) conference, held at Humboldt University in Berlin (26–29 August 2025).

The panel brought together historians of medicine to examine the emergence and consequences of single-use devices in healthcare, with a focus on waste, sterilisation, and the promotion of disposables.

Papers explored the rapid expansion of medical waste infrastructures, including incineration and landfill, alongside the historical role of sterilisation systems in enabling reuse. Presentations also examined how manufacturers and hospital managers promoted disposable devices in the mid-20th century, often framing them as safer, cheaper, and more efficient despite limited evidence.

The sessions generated strong engagement and discussion, highlighting the continued relevance of historical perspectives in understanding contemporary healthcare systems and their environmental impacts.

Alongside the panel, team members also presented recent publications, including The Mask: A History of Breathing Bad Air by Bruno J. Strasser and Thomas Schlich, and Medicine on a Larger Scale: Global Histories of Social Medicine, co-edited by Anne Kveim Lie and Jeremy Greene.

Read the full panel summary and individual papers in the Outputs section.