A joint study between Envetec and BD found polymer products can be recycled into new, usable material.
Tipperary-based clean-tech Envetec Sustainable Technologies and US medtech Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) have jointly completed a feasibility study that tested the ability to recycle polystyrene petri dishes into new manufacturing material.
The medtech industry produces tonnes of plastic equipment annually, much of which is single-use and needs to be carefully discarded. This includes IV fluid bags, medical devices, plastic gloves and syringes, among so much more. A 2020 study showed that the US – which, at the time, consumed around 40pc of medical devices globally – produced around 1.7m tonnes of plastic waste annually.
The BD and Envetec feasibility study aimed to find a possible solution to this problem by focusing on BD’s own manufacturing waste. It found that high-quality polymers, including polystyrene, polyester, polypropylene and polyethylene, can be reused in the manufacturing supply chain after being safely disinfected and processed.
Envetec’s ‘generations’ technology can convert regulated waste into recyclable polymer flakes through a “validated, low-energy chemical disinfection process”, the study found.
In the shared pilot, unused plated media were shredded, separated, chemically disinfected and transformed into recycled, clean polymer flakes. These flakes were then converted into pellets and moulded into new petri dish prototypes. These dishes were also successfully tested, the two companies said. They see “clear opportunities” to expand the pilot.
Envetec’s technology, which was used in the project, is currently being deployed in biopharma and life science facilities, hospitals and the food sector across the US and Europe.
“This pilot marks the first step in a broader effort to demonstrate the feasibility of recovering and recycling multiple types of plastic products across healthcare supply chains,” said Malcolm Bell, the CEO of Envetec.
“By creating a proof of concept for a pathway that allows regulated plastics to be safely treated and returned to productive use, we are opening the door to sustainable solutions that can help the industry avoid landfill and keep valuable materials in circulation.” Last year, Bell invested in and joined the board of directors at the cloud-based chemical waste management platform Chemishield.
Nikos Pavlidis, the worldwide president of diagnostic solutions at BD, said: “This pilot, conducted by BD’s Sustainable Medical Technologies Institute, represents an important step toward enabling circular economy solutions for other high-volume healthcare consumables made from commonly used plastics, such as blood collection tubes, syringes and packaging.”
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