Syringes used during the Covid-19 pandemic will be recycled at a Hull factory.

MYGroup’s Hull factory has been recycling unrecyclable plastics for several years but says it has now been given the go ahead to give medical equipment new leases of life. Hospitals and GP surgeries will now be able to send plastic from PPE, surgical dressings and even vaccines on to the factory.

Plastic otherwise destined for landfill is shredded into mulch at the group’s factory, before being heated and pressed into hardboard which is used for benches, school furniture and shop fittings. The company has now been given the green light from the Environment Agency to recycle surgical equipment for the first time.

The company has already been working to recycle waste from the pandemic, including lateral flow tests and even masks from huge events such as the G7 Summit which were shredded down on its site in Hull’s industrial district. “We have to come up with more alternative ways of getting out of this mess,” factory staff told Hull Live earlier this year.

All clinical waste will be sterilised before being recycled into furniture for classrooms and other items, which will be done in a first-of-its kind zero-emission machine, the company said. MYGroup expects the company to process up to 63 tons of clinical waste a week using the machine.

Great idea. Let’s just hope the difficulties of retrieving needles from syringes doesn’t create difficulties. We must hope that the Environmental Agency don’t make idiots of themselves by  blocking such a good idea, or bow to pressure from established operators. Sadly, neither of these situations are unknown. Hopefully, enlightenment is now the order of the day.

more at: https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/hull-factory-recycle-covid-19-7703357