Circularity in healthcare starts with a simple question: what is being lost, and how can we preserve or recover it?

During the Lunch & Learn session on 11 December, two projects from the Institute for a Circular Society will share their insights — from Suriname to Utrecht.

Reducing Waste in Childbirth

Megan Milota (UMC Utrecht) and Ryvann Soerohardjo (Anton de Kom University & Academic Hospital Paramaribo) are studying material use during childbirth in the Netherlands and Suriname.

Using a life cycle assessment, they map out differences in consumption and waste, exploring what the Netherlands can learn from countries where creativity and efficiency in healthcare are part of everyday reality.
This EWUU project centres on fair knowledge exchange between countries and cultures, supported by an ethnographic film and comparative research.

Watercare: ⅔ Recover, ⅓ Regenerate

Joes Janmaat (Studio Sociaal Centraal) and Karin Gerritsen (UMC Utrecht, Department of Nephrology) collaborate on Waterzorg (Watercare): an installation and social design project that makes visible how much water is lost during kidney dialysis.

Did you know that two-thirds of that water is clean and reusable, yet currently disappears into the drain? The installation highlights the possibilities, dilemmas, and communication challenges around water reuse in healthcare.

Meanwhile, the partners are preparing a European research proposal to develop a system capable of regenerating the remaining third of the dialysate. In this way, they are working towards a future in which water cycles are closed — including plans for a greywater system as part of the upcoming UMC Utrecht renovation.

The term Waterzorg has now been added to the GRROW Water Glossary (in Dutch), an initiative by the KWR Water Research Institute, which will soon feature this project on its website.

A visual wake-up call and a hopeful glimpse of a healthcare system without waste.

📅 11 December 2024 | 12:15–13:00 (CET) | Online
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