Endless Glove? Discussing the Potential Benefits of Biodegradable Nitrile

Session Description: Disposable medical examination gloves represent a multi-million-dollar industry in the United States. They are found throughout healthcare facilities, medical offices, and home care kits. Consider that they are donned before nearly any patient interaction – and that each of these encounters could result in at least one glove’s disposal and eventual transfer to a landfill where it could take centuries to degrade.

Some manufacturers now offer nitrile gloves, the most widely used examination glove material, in proprietary biodegradable formulations. In what could be an exciting step for healthcare sustainability, these gloves are intended to break down over the course of months instead of centuries, specifically under landfill conditions.

But do these gloves offer the same protection as the traditional nitrile gloves that healthcare has come to rely on? What are the differences in regulatory requirements between traditional and biodegradable nitrile gloves? This session will provide a broad overview of the regulation, additive process, use, and degradation profile of biodegradable versus conventional nitrile gloves. We will also review our test findings for many of the products in the biodegradable nitrile glove marketplace and compare them to results for conventional nitrile examination gloves. We will summarize how we test gloves, what features matter most to clinicians, and post-pandemic spend estimates.

The session’s target audience is any clinician using examination gloves as personal protective equipment (PPE) and others who work with or have an interest in PPE selection, disposal, and sustainability, including infection preventionists, members of purchasing committees, and occupational health practitioners. The content is appropriate for all experience levels and career stages.