Once more, a story has reached the news of plastics recovered from clinical wastes being recycled to teh manufacture of plastic plates, cups and other utensils. A previous story was circulating a couple of years ago of similar manufacture of plastic knives and forks and of these being exported to the west (Clinical Waste Discussion Forum archives).

“At Toan Thinh factory in Binh Duong Province neighboring Ho Chi Minh City, a truck delivers up to 15 tons of plastic waste, most of it used syringes that still have blood stains on them, every day. Syringes are simply put into a grinder after the needles are removed, the Tuoi Tre found after an investigation this month. The grinding produces polypropylene (PP) particles, which are used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes.  PP granules are cleaned with water twice before being distributed, but no other treatment is used to render incoming wastes safe.

“Ba, a worker at the factory, said syringes are made from quality plastic and thus it makes bright plastic particles when recycled.

It might be possible that the remanufacturing process renders new products safe despite contamination of the raw incoming recyclate. Plastic extrusion heats source material to 200C – 270C while for injection moulding temperatures of 250C – 350C are used depending on the materials used. However, the aesthetic issues must be considered and many would consider this process entirely unsavory and unacceptable.

What strikes me most, and is of greatest concern, is the welfare of workers tasked with handling incoming bloodstained syringes and removing the needles. We are unaware of the level of protection from sharps injury or other exposures, but it might be reasonable to expect that conditions are far from satisfactory.