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One Planetary Health Symposium

The Plastic Healthcare Pardadox

One Planetary Health Symposium 2026

Plastic Paradox in Healthcare 
 
25 November 2026 | Van Doorne offices, Amsterdam
 
Plastic saves lives in healthcare. Yet that same plastic comes back like a boomerang, one that may harm the health of patients, healthcare staff and the medical environment around them. How do we keep plastic doing the good it does, without putting the health of people, animals and the environment at risk?On November 25, managers, healthcare professionals, and experts will discuss this urgent question with each other and explore what steps are needed to arrive at concrete solutions.
 
Save the date and add the symposium to your calendar now:
25 November 2026, 13.00 to 18.00.
 
Further information and registration details will follow soon.

Program symposium content

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Opening

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The Urgency

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Inspirational pitches

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System change

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Laws and obstacles

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Closure en call to action

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Isabelle Vanhoutte - Author of the book Lek

It's well known that plastic and microplastics are everywhere. But the fact that they also leak harmful substances is much less known. With this book, journalist Isabelle Vanhoutte is sounding the alarm about it: we have a big problem and need to do something about it.
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Diederik Gommers

Professor Diederik Gommers is a Dutch doctor specializing in intensive care, who can talk about the plastic paradox in healthcare like no one else. He works as an intensivist at the Erasmus MC academic hospital in Rotterdam and was chairman of the Dutch Society for Intensive Care for six years. He was also a member of the OMT during the coronavirus crisis in the Netherlands and specializes in infection prevention.
Natural-Polymers-Group

Natural Polymer Group

Heart surgeries, contact lenses, nasal rinses, orthopedic implants, IV drips, chemotherapy: hospitals are places where we hope to get better, but we’re also exposed to microplastics in the air, in equipment, in medicines, in covering foils, IV drips, and so on. Could it be different? The third speaker represents the Natural Polymer Group, an international coalition of companies and innovators committed to reducing plastic pollution by promoting the use of naturally derived polymers that aren’t chemically modified. The group wants to make plant-based and nature-based materials (like seaweed, starch, and plant fibers) mainstream as alternatives to conventional plastics.
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Lesseau

An automatic soap dispenser that has already won several prestigious design awards in its short existence: Lesseau, a combination of the English word 'LESS' and the French 'EAU'. Together, this means: less water. Lesseau is offering in more and more hospitals an alternative to the liquid soap that depletes our world. This is soap without plastic disposable packaging, without unnecessary water use, and without chemical additives.
 
In other words: how a seemingly small innovation can make a big difference.

Agenda

Plastic Paradox in Healthcare 
 
25 November 2026 | Van Doorne offices, Amsterdam
 
Plastic saves lives in healthcare. Yet that same plastic comes back like a boomerang, one that may harm the health of patients, healthcare staff and the medical environment around them. How do we keep plastic doing the good it does, without putting the health of people, animals and the environment at risk?On November 25, managers, healthcare professionals, and experts will discuss this urgent question with each other and explore what steps are needed to arrive at concrete solutions.
 
Save the date and add the symposium to your calendar now:
25 November 2026, 13.00 to 18.00.
 
Further information and registration details will follow soon.

Frequently asked questions

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Guestlist

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Don't want to miss it?

Plastic Paradox in Healthcare 
 
25 November 2026 | Van Doorne offices, Amsterdam
 
Plastic saves lives in healthcare. Yet that same plastic comes back like a boomerang, one that may harm the health of patients, healthcare staff and the medical environment around them. How do we keep plastic doing the good it does, without putting the health of people, animals and the environment at risk?On November 25, managers, healthcare professionals, and experts will discuss this urgent question with each other and explore what steps are needed to arrive at concrete solutions.
 
Save the date and add the symposium to your calendar now:
25 November 2026, 13.00 to 18.00.
 
Further information and registration details will follow soon.
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