Staff travel and procurement drive emissions at Egypt’s private dental laboratories, a new study finds, calling for more research into the carbon footprint of dental labs around the world.
The study, published this month in BDJ Open, looked at 21 private dental labs in Cairo, Alexandria and El Beheira and found that the average lab produced around 20,820 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year, or about 2.9 kg per dental prosthesis or appliance.
Staff travel, often delivered by couriers to pick up printed materials and appliances, was the biggest source of emissions, accounting for 43.6% of total emissions. Procurement accounted for 27.8%, followed by electricity consumption (25%), waste emissions (3.3%) and water emissions (0.1%).
The carbon footprint increased by a further 7.7% when equipment depreciation was taken into account.
The study’s authors said dental labs have been an overlooked source of greenhouse gas emissions and urged the development of country-specific carbon calculators to better track and reduce global emissions.
They also recommend strategies such as public transportation incentives, shifting to mass transit, switching to renewable energy, and educating dental technicians on sustainability.
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