Recycling medical plastics: Where are we now?

MPN editor Laura Hughes writes about how recycling medical plastics was a hot topic during MD&M West.

In February I jetted away from the cold and stormy weather in England to head to sunny Los Angeles. Despite the cancelled and rescheduled flights causing a bit of stress, I was relieved to land safely in Anaheim ahead of MD&M West – a key industry event with thousands of attendees.

During the show I met with lots of companies and buzz words such as sustainability and recycling were constantly brought up in conversation.

Solvay, a materials and chemicals company, explained how there was a real focus currently on replacing single use metal with plastic. However, I was informed that the plastic currently used is not recyclable. Rose Catherin, sales development manager, Solvay, explained this is because of a supply chain issue. Catherin said how there was not a system in place to collect the devices from the hospital and take them to a relevant location in order for recycling to take place.

Whereas, Steve Duckworth, global head of segment medical and pharmaceutical, Clariant, said for him, “it is more about using less material, rather than making everything recyclable.” He explained how the company’s number one priority is to ensure that the device does not compromise patient safety. Duckworth also highlighted how once medical devices are recycled, these devices cannot then be re-used in the medical field. He explained there can be issues around the responsibility of these devices following recycling,  if a single use medical device is reused and an incident occurs.

As well as talking to exhibitors on the show floor, I was fortunate to be able to attend a panel discussion titled, ‘The power of partnership to drive competitive advantage in sustainable packaging.’ During this discussion, Ron Basak-Smith, co-founder and CEO, Sana Packaging, reiterated the point raised above by Rose Catherin regarding the lack of a recycling supply chain. Other key points mentioned by the panellists included how it is important not just to use recyclable material, but also for manufacturers to consider the whole life cycle of packaging when discussing sustainability. E.g. How much water was used to create this packaging? How many greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals were involved in the process? Can this material be repurposed?

Additionally, how much are manufacturers expecting others to know about their products? Education is vital to know what parts can be recycled, and where. For instance, we all know that aluminium can be recycled, but with plastics it is not always clear which plastics can be recycled, and where this takes place. Encouraging people to recycle is also easier if you use relatable phrases e.g. By recycling this you have removed a certain amount of emissions from cars on the road.

An article published in The Wire explored if scientists could “do away with single-use plastics from labs in India.” In 2017, the Central Pollution Control Board announced that India generates 1.6 million tonnes of plastic waste in a year. Although the country is reportedly not the biggest plastic producer in the world, India manages plastics inadequately. Replacements such as reusable petri-dishes and cups were proposed, however, if these were implemented, the newly introduced contamination risks would need to be adequately managed.

I am confident that recycling and sustainability will be on the radar of all manufacturers. There are multiple benefits associated with using reusable devices within the pharmaceutical and medical sector for conditions such as diabetes where injection devices are used often. As users and manufacturers become more environmentally aware, I’m sure there will be a significant number of changes within the medical sector for both manufacturers and the users of these medical devices.