A forgotten pen costs hospitals hundreds of uniforms
Ink stains render entire loads of workwear unusable every week, an RTL Nieuws survey finds.
Dutch hospitals throw away hundreds of uniforms every week after pens or marker pens end up in washing machines. A single ballpoint pen can spread ink across an entire wash load, according to laundry company CleanLease.
The problem became apparent at UMC Utrecht, where at least fifty uniforms a week are reportedly rejected, according to RTL Nieuws. Doctors and nurses hand in their used clothing at the laundry after their shifts. There, the garments are inspected and washed, but a forgotten pen can spread ink across the entire load during the process.
CleanLease, which washes clothing for UMC Utrecht and dozens of other hospitals, uses equipment that detects objects in pockets. According to a spokesperson, 99 per cent of items found are detected. Pens and marker pens remain difficult, however, because the inspection does not always recognise them and they cause extensive damage once they end up in the wash.
Other hospitals also recognise the problem. UMC Groningen told RTL that around 200 to 300 items of clothing are rejected prematurely each month; around three-quarters of those are reportedly related to ink stains. At Maastricht UMC+, the same survey found around five hundred uniforms a year are affected. LUMC says it regularly rejects workwear because of pen stains.
The figures cited are not nationwide, independently verified waste statistics. They are figures provided by individual hospitals and a laundry company. The various examples do indicate, however, that the problem is not limited to a single institution. According to RTL, most of the affected clothing is sent to a recycling company, but it can no longer be reused as uniform clothing.
UMC Utrecht is therefore asking staff to check their coat and trouser pockets before handing in their clothing. Additional checks or new detection technology are conceivable, but would require staff and money. For now, the hospital is opting for a simple behavioural measure: a few seconds of attention before the clothing goes to the laundry.
The issue is not about the hygiene of clean uniforms, but about logistics, material use and waste. Hospitals have long been looking for ways to reuse textiles and other equipment more often. UMC Utrecht, for example, is working on broader sustainability in healthcare, while CleanLease offers reusable medical clothing. Without better prevention, however, one small object can still render an entire load unusable.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The main figures and statements can be found in RTL Nieuws and the independent reporting by DutchNews.nl based on it. The text makes clear that these are local figures, not a nationwide measurement.
- confirmed Dutch hospitals throw away hundreds of uniforms every week because of pens and marker pens. — RTL and DutchNews.nl report this on the basis of a survey and statements from CleanLease. source
- confirmed At UMC Utrecht, the figure is at least fifty uniforms a week. — This figure is cited by RTL Nieuws. source
- confirmed CleanLease detects around 99 per cent of objects in clothing. — A CleanLease spokesperson is quoted on this. source
- confirmed UMC Groningen reports 200 to 300 rejected items of clothing per month, around three-quarters of them because of ink. — RTL Nieuws cites this figure from UMC Groningen. source
- confirmed At Maastricht UMC+, around five hundred uniforms with ink stains are involved each year. — This figure appears in RTL Nieuws’s survey. source
- confirmed The figures cited are not nationwide, independently verified waste statistics. — The sources describe local figures and a survey, not a nationwide register. source
Editor's note
The specific figures come from a journalistic survey and statements by hospitals and the laundry company. No nationwide audit was found; the figures are therefore not presented as an official national waste measurement.Sources
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