At-home COVID, pregnancy or blood sugar tests save people a lot of time and money. They even save lives, but that convenience comes at a different cost.
Technology has made it easier for people to check in with their bodies without going to a doctor’s office.
At-home COVID, pregnancy or blood sugar tests save people a lot of time and money. They even save lives, but that convenience comes at a different cost.
Professor Alice Street of University of Edinburgh told CBS News, “Those same devices are contributing to a growing burden of plastic pollution globally that's ending up in our oceans, ending up in our soil, that is being burned and contributing to carbon emissions.”
British scientists are trying to reduce the amount of waste at-home tests create, telling CBS News they are using limestone, parts of old appliances and even bubble gum to create prototypes of eco-friendly products that they say could reduce the carbon footprint of these tests by half.
Kiron Phillips of Great Central Plastics tells CBS News, “We have the machinery, the skill sets and all the knowledge that we need to be able to turn this into a mass-produced item.”
Because caring for your health at home shouldn't mean harming the planet.
