Estimated waste generation from 1 million basic metabolic panels: a multisite U.S. study

Clinical laboratory operations consume large amounts of electricity and water and generate considerable quantities of solid waste. In this study, we quantified and compared the estimated solid waste produced from performing one million basic metabolic panels (BMPs) across five major high-throughput chemistry analyzer systems commonly used in the United States. Additionally, we estimated the carbon emissions associated with the electricity and water usage of each analyzer to better understand their environmental impact.

Five academic medical centers each using a different clinical chemistry analyzer system, collected their respective annual vendor purchase data (January 2022-December 2022). Consumables including reagent cartridges, packaging boxes, inserts associated with reagents, calibrators, and QC materials were categorized and weighed separately. Solid waste estimates for one million BMPs were calculated based on institutional testing volumes. Water and electricity usage for the analyzer systems was obtained and estimated CO₂ emissions (CO₂e) were determined using standard emission factors and calculators.

The study found that performing one million BMPs on wet chemistry analyzer platforms, Abbott, Beckman, Roche and Siemens generated 995 kg, 1,274 kg, 579 kg and 489 kg of solid waste respectively while the dry chemistry Ortho system produced 160,593 kg. The majority of waste across all platforms was plastic. Annualized CO₂e from electricity and water use totaled to 69,665 kg CO₂e.

Analysis of BMPs generates substantial amounts of solid waste and CO₂e across major diagnostic platforms. These findings emphasize the urgent need for sustainability strategies in diagnostic laboratories to address their environmental footprint.