The production, circulation, and disposal of single-use medical plastics pose significant risks to human and environmental health. These products are often difficult to recycle, release harmful toxins when incinerated and have a substantial carbon footprint, making the healthcare sector comparable to the fifth largest country in terms of emissions.
After the Single Use brings together anthropologists and historians to address this challenge, employing innovative methods to explore how disposability became normal, analyse the lifecycles of single-use plastics, and collaborate with stakeholders to develop sustainable healthcare solutions.
How and why have disposable plastics been valued in global healthcare and what examples exist of alternative paths not taken?
How are disposable medical technologies produced, transported, consumed, and discarded, and what relations and inequities are generated across their lifecycles?
How are researchers, policymakers, activists, engineers, and designers working together to build sustainable healthcare solutions?
After the Single Use is collaborating with NOBA, Norway’s first permanent BioArt platform, to develop a series of international artist residencies exploring healthcare plastics, waste, and circular healthcare systems.
The Mask: A History of Breathing Bad Air, co-authored by After the Single Use researcher Bruno J. Strasser, has been shortlisted for a leading science writing award. The book has been praised for its richly illustrated, global history of respiratory masks and its timely reflections on how societies navigate risk, protection and public health.
After the Single Use researchers convened a panel at EAHMH 2025, exploring the histories and infrastructures of medical disposability.
Anne Kveim Lie spoke to Norwegian health publication ‘Dagens Medisin’ about disposable medical equipment, healthcare waste, and the growing need for systemic change.
