Becton Dickinson (BD) are to launch a family of syringes addressing environmental impact as well as a range of user benefits and clinical needs.

This forms part of the BD sustainability commitment that embraces manufacturing and distribution, and end-of-life disposal including most importantly needle safety and syringe designs that prevent inappropriate re-use that is a continuing public health problem in so many parts of the world.

This sustainability commitment is, perhaps slightly tongue-in-cheek, as much to increase BD profitability as to protect the environment, or to reduce costs and waste outputs (environmental impact) for their users (customers) but that is not an issue since the overall gain is important.

The impact on waste minimasation during production and after use should be considerable. Manufacturers have a responsibility to lean manufacturing, to improvement and minimisation of packaging, and to reduction of waste. For many, there is along way to go. All praise to BD for their efforts

Good luck to them.