Hospital PVC recycling captures 33,000 pounds of waste

Hospitals produce vast quantities of waste – we know that – but some fractions of that waste justify separate collection where possible. One important but commonly overlooked fraction is that comprising PVC, usually from flexible IV tubing and IV infusion bags.

We overlook these chlorinated plastic wastes at our peril. Though they may be separated at source, sterilisation will be essential before reprocessing, and they will almost certainly contain drug residues that warrant further consideration.

PVC wastes will presently find their way to waste sacks, but increasingly to sharps bins as the use of short IV blood collection sets increases in proportion to the use of vacuum blood tubes. Operators must be aware therefore of the increasing Cl content of both soft wastes but of sharps bins also.

Must of this PVC waste can be separately collected, though very few hospitals have the space or time to accommodate yet another waste stream.

However, hospitals in two Australian states have recycled 33,000 pounds of PVC waste, turning it into industrial hoses and non-slip floor mats.

The hospitals are participating in a recycling program, PVC Recovery in Hospitals, sponsored by the Vinyl Council of Australia in collaboration with manufacturers, as reported in Waste & Recycling News. Although the amount of products recycled remains relatively low, 33,000 pounds, the Vinyl Council of Australia believes that rates will pick up quickly now that educational packets have been sent to participating hospitals: hospital trials show that educating staff is crucial in making PVC recycling programs in hospitals a success.

The program is currently in effect in six Australia hospitals and medical centres, with another two hospitals in the early stages of implementation.

Plastics are a significant share of hospital general waste. PVC, or vinyl, is widely used in healthcare in both building products such as floor coverings, and medical products such as intravenous (IV) fluid bags, tubing, oxygen masks and blood bags. Plastics are estimated to account for about one third of a hospital’s general waste, most of which is sent to landfill in Australia; of that plastic waste, PVC is estimated to represent about 25 per cent, according to the Vinyl Council of Australia. The pilot PVC Recovery program, initiated at Western Health Victoria in 2009, demonstrated that some PVC medical products can be separated relatively easily by hospital staff. It can then be recycled in Australia and re-manufactured into useful new products.

It is estimated that Australia consumes at least 2,500 tons per year of PVC in the most common medical products, including 50 million IV bags. Each ton of recycled PVC produced will replace about one ton of virgin PVC compound used in new products, the organization says.

Currently, two Melbourne-based companies recycle the medical waste. They support the program because Australian manufacturers of plastic products have often had difficulties finding good-quality recycled plastics.

How good this is, if it works for them. I suspect, however, that post sterilisation separation may be a more satisfactory alternative, to capture and recover at least some of this PVC waste while avoiding undue pressures of time and space on an already stressed health service. As every, waste regulation can make or break such recycling options, with clumsy regulation impacting negatively on the good work of those who wish to make a real difference.

 

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