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Abstract

Single-use nitrile gloves play an important role in reducing the risk of contamination in various industrial sectors such as medical facilities, food manufacturing and processing factories, as well as research laboratories. A previous student research project reported that 7 million individual nitrile gloves are discarded each year across the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) 400+ labs (Mikolay et al., 2020). This research project provides an analysis of the environmental impact of nitrile gloves across their entire life cycle through the form of a cradle-to-grave life cycle analysis (LCA). The first stage of this LCA study identified the production process as the most carbon-intensive process within the glove’s entire life cycle. Meanwhile, the second stage of this study performed a series of scenario-based comparisons in order to generate recommendations for reducing the carbon intensity of nitrile gloves within the production stage. In recognition of the important role of single-use gloves as PPE in UBC labs, the results of this study can be used to inform and guide UBC labs to source its nitrile gloves from more sustainable glove manufacturers. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”