Raphael Cobra

Health crises expose the fragility of healthcare systems and the environmental burden of disposable medical waste. This study couples Circular Economy (CE) principles with System Dynamics (SD) modeling to evaluate reuse, sterilization, and recycling of N95 masks in the Brazilian healthcare system. Simulations reveal an unexpected sustainability–safety paradox: while reuse and sterilization deliver the largest reductions in waste, emissions, and costs, recycling alone yields only marginal environmental benefits despite its economic appeal. More circular configurations not only lower resource dependency but also enhance resilience, mitigating personal protective equipment (PPE) scarcity during crises. By integrating real health system data (DATASUS) into a dynamic model using the Vensim® software, we identify systemic leverage points for designing durable PPE and shaping policies that balance safety and sustainability. Our analysis spans all three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic) providing a holistic assessment of PPE circular strategies. This work demonstrates how SD–CE integration can inform evidence-based strategies to build more sustainable and resilient healthcare systems capable of facing future public health emergencies. Even though the analysis was focused on the case of N95 masks, the framework employed in this work can be generalized for many other cases in the healthcare system.

To design more sustainable products often means improving the sustainability of materials. Currently, sustainable innovation calls upon materials to not only minimize environmental impacts but also to become circular. That requires efforts to keep materials functional for longer, avoid early disposal, and re-entering the cycle via recycling and other feedback processes. Those emerging challenges for materials development and the Circular Economy (CE) are especially critical in the case of polymers. How to develop strategies to preserve the value of polymers remains a question that mobilizes both researchers and practitioners. Technology Roadmapping (TRM) is a tool traditionally used for planning innovation processes and has supported the development of sustainable materials and other sustainability-related projects. This study tests TRM’s potential to assist with the planning of new circular polymers solutions and proposes the Circular TRM method. This proposition results from the case study of the development of waste-based fiber-polymer materials and strategies for getting them into the market. Our case study demonstrates how it would be possible to differentiate the various polymer material technologies and determine the most circular strategy path.