• Define the basics of circular economy from a hospital perspective
• Translate the circular approaches of the Butterfly Diagram to a hospital or healthcare environment
• Recognize the purpose of a green team and outline its requirements
• Define urban mining and identify urban mining strategies in the hospital
• Analyze waste streams in the hospital and identify how these can be reduced or eliminated
• Formulate a set of recommendations to decrease hospital waste

Week 1: Basics of the circular healthcare economy, from a hospital perspective
In this week you will learn the basics of the circular healthcare economy, from a hospital perspective. Topics which we will cover this week are:

• The transfer from linear to circular
• The need to transfer to circular healthcare economy
• Explanation of the Butterfly Diagram as a ‘system’ and its use as a model for waste reduction
• The EU Climate Law and Green Deal
• Trend towards reducing medical waste.

Week 2: Applying circular strategies in a hospital environment
In this week you will learn to apply circular approaches. Topics which we will cover this week are:

• Visualizing all Butterfly Diagram approaches as strategies in a hospital.
• Applying the circular strategies of Maintenance, Reuse, Repair, Remanufacturing, Recycling
• Transforming hospitals’ use of circular products and processes
• Product-life-extending programs
• Circular strategies in hospitals

Week 3: Setting-up a green team
In this week you will learn how to set-up a green team. Topics which we will cover this week are:

• Designing a green team
• Integrating circular processes in an organization
• Critical success factors and how to overcome resistance in setting-up a team
• How to create a support base in the organization

Week 4: Urban Mining
In this week you will learn to define urban mining and to identify urban mining strategies in the hospital. Topics which we will cover this week are:

• The definition of urban mining and its relevance
• How to urban mine in a hospital
• Risks of contamination
• Differences between the different wastes streams: household, contaminated and non-contaminated waste streams
• Materials and their properties
• Mono versus mixed waste streams.

Week 5: How to reduce waste streams
In this week you will learn how to analyze waste streams in the hospital and identify how these can be reduced or eliminated. Topics which we will cover this week are:

• Waste reduction strategies
• Waste reduction programs
• Medical devices with extended service-life and longer durability
• Advantages of repair, preventive maintenance, refurbishment in the context of reducing waste streams
• How to separate waste streams.

Week 6: Making recommendations to reduce waste in a hospital
In this week you will learn how to formulate a set of recommendations to decrease hospital waste. Topics which we will cover this week are:

• Writing a waste reduction proposal
• Evaluating a circular proposal
• Creating a sustainable advice network.

Week 7: Summary of the course
In this week we will wrap-up and provide main takeaways as well as additional resources and information. Literature reviews and finding relevant publications were part of this course and we will provide you with more relevant literature on this topic.