Wcn24-2650 Water, Solid Waste, and Supplies: One Year Inside a Dialysis Unit in an Underdeveloped Region

Hemodialysis services consume hundreds of liters of water and generate tons of plastic waste, significantly contributing to environmental impact through substantial water consumption and massive plastic waste generation, both contributing to the global environmental footprint. With an estimated three million maintenance dialysis patients worldwide, a doubling of this number is projected by 2030, potentially exceeding 7 million individuals with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. In developed countries, in the practice of conventional hemodialysis, occurring on a 4hour weekly regime, each patient consumes approximately 500 liters of water and generates, per session, about 2,500 kg of high-quality infectious plastic waste, including lines, dialyzers, biodegradable bags, concentrate bottles, syringes, among other items.