Bell of the ball: Environmentally friendly dress highlights the importance of recycling medical plastics

Bella the bride is the latest addition to the Nancy Judd’s Recycle Runway Collection; showing how environmentally friendly fashion can be made from medical plastic waste.

You wouldn’t think that medical plastic waste could be utilised in useful and sustainable ways, but that’s exactly what Bella the Bride and the Recycle Runway Collection represents.

The dress is the latest addition to the collection which in the past has showcased fashion items made out of cans, bottles, shopping bags, phone books, electrical wires, and even glass.

The dress is made out of Tyvek, a material commonly used within medical device packaging. The material has a similar appearance to paper and makes for a striking and unique wedding dress.

Judd was tasked with creating the dress by Beacon Converters, who create sterilisation packaging for the healthcare industry. The dress and exhibit raise awareness for the need to recycle, particularly for healthcare packaging. The healthcare industry is one of the top generators of waste, creating over 5.2 million tonnes annually. 

Stats from EPA 2010, post-consumer waste show that only 6% of our plastics get recycled with 77% ending up in a landfill when thrown away. According to EPA landfill waste can take up to 100 – 1000 years to decompose and has a significant effect on the environment.