United Kingdom – RecoMed, the PVC take-back scheme for medical devices, has won the Chartered Institute of Waste Management’s Sustainability and Resource Award for Best Recycling Project 2017.
RecoMed has recycled over 5000 kg of uncontaminated PVC since it was launched back in 2014, with 2800 kg amassed this year alone.
The items collected include oxygen and anaesthetic masks, oxygen tubing and IV bags, all of which are transformed into horticultural products such as tree ties.
Run by resource recovery specialist Axion and the British Plastics Federation with funding from European association VinylPlus, the scheme currently operates in 11 hospitals across the UK, with more than 10 others currently in the process of implementing it.
‘The scheme has gone from strength to strength, with 2017 seeing an exponential increase in the volume of PVC medical device waste collected,’ says Jane Gardner of Axion. ‘We hope this award will help to further showcase the scheme’s sustainability goals and we are excited about growing the number of hospitals where it is implemented.’
VinylPlus’ general manager Brigitte Dero adds: ‘The RecoMed scheme is a concrete example of how PVC waste – in this case PVC used in medical applications – can be recovered safely and used in new applications.’
VinylPlus says it will continue to invest in the recycling of medical devices in the future.
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