A new study in the Bulletin o the Warld Halth Organisation warns that the single-yaise design o lateral flow tests has led tae an unseen waste o plastic. Researchers fae Heriot-Watt University an the University o Edinburgh leuked hard at 21 COVID-19 test kits an fund that ilka kit yaises atween sax an near 40 gram o plastic. They urge test makkers tae trim doon excess plastic ithoot hinnerin halth gains.

The study shaws great scowth for yaisin less plastic. Target product profiles, drawn up for tae guide test makkers, fix ideas sic as cost, wecht, an size. Yet nae mony o thae profiles mention hoo tests hurt the land. Professor Maïwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas, co-lead o Heriot-Watt’s Global Research Institute in Health & Care Technologies, said: “We hae fund few target product profiles that mention the environmental impact o tests, an nane provide quantitative measures. We want thae profiles tae include a limit o fower gram o plastic uise in the lateral flow tests cassettes, for example. Oor study shawed that wis the average wecht o plastic in test cassettes, sae it’s achievable. We howp this will be taen up as policy an an industry staundart.”

Professor Alice Street fae the University o Edinburgh stressed, “Improvin access tae essential medical testin shouldnae come at the expense o environmental sustainability. Oor findins shaw that reducin plastic waste in test kits is baith feasible an necessary.” Wi mair than twa billion tests made ilka year, an millions o HIV an malaria tests bocht in 2023, the tests hae brocht great care but a heich burden on waste systems.

In places wi puir waste-handlin, yaised test cassettes tend tae eyn up in dumps or watterweys, or they are brunt an fill the air wi unwaanted reek. Even in strang waste systems, few o thae plastics find a wey back intae yaise.

The fu study, cryed “Mass o Components an Material Distribution in Lateral Flow Assay Kits,” is set oot in the Bulletin o the Warld Halth Organisation.