This blog is part of a series featuring the 2026 YPG Mentorship Programme participants and their valuable learnings in the field of solid waste management and the circular economy.
Mentee: Talha Mushtaq
Mentor: Gijs Langeveld
Healthcare waste management is widely recognised as a complex and highly regulated field. Across many systems, including the NHS, robust policies and guidance exist to ensure waste is managed safely and responsibly. Yet, despite this, challenges around segregation, cost, and environmental impact persist.
During my participation in the ISWA Young Professionals Mentorship Programme, I had the opportunity to explore this issue in greater depth. Through discussions with my mentor and engagement with frontline healthcare staff, I began to better understand where the disconnect lies.
A consistent theme emerged: while systems are designed around compliance, the reality of waste management is shaped by human behaviour.
In fast-paced clinical environments, staff are required to make rapid decisions. When guidance is unclear, inconsistent, or not immediately accessible, the tendency is to default to the most risk-averse option. This often results in over-classification of waste as hazardous or infectious, increasing both disposal costs and environmental burden.
Importantly, current systems tend to measure outcomes such as waste volumes and disposal routes rather than the behaviours that drive them. As a result, opportunities to influence and improve practice at the point of disposal are often missed.
This insight led me to consider how a more behaviour-focused approach could complement existing compliance frameworks.
As part of my mentorship journey, I explored the concept of a digital platform designed to support healthcare staff in real time. The idea centres on providing clear, material-specific guidance at the point of disposal, combined with simple mechanisms to capture feedback and improve understanding of waste practices.
A key element of this concept is the use of enhanced bin-level communication ranging from improved visual labels to digitally enabled “smart” labels. These interventions aim to make correct segregation intuitive and accessible, without adding complexity to already demanding workflows. Any interaction is designed to be quick and unobtrusive, recognising the time pressures faced by clinical and support staff.
While still at a conceptual stage, this approach highlights the potential value of integrating behavioural insights into waste management systems. By focusing on how decisions are made in practice, rather than solely on policy compliance, there is an opportunity to drive more meaningful and sustained improvements.
The potential benefits extend beyond individual organisations. Improved segregation can contribute to reduced reliance on high-temperature treatment, supporting broader decarbonisation goals. At the same time, better data on waste practices could enable more targeted interventions, knowledge sharing, and benchmarking across healthcare systems.
This experience has reinforced the importance of user-centred thinking in the development of waste management solutions. It also underlined the value of mentorship in challenging assumptions and encouraging new perspectives.
For the wider waste and resource management sector, the lesson is clear: technical solutions and regulatory frameworks are essential, but they must be complemented by an understanding of behaviour if they are to be truly effective.
