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About Innovative Method for
Recycling Disposable Plastic PPE Kits
It is estimated that during the
Covid Pandemic, hospitals across the world use millions and
millions of Personal Protective Equipment ( PPE ), the majority of
which are single-use plastics. This results into challenges
managing mountains of waste.
A South Wales ( UK ) company has
developed an innovative method to recycle single-use personal
protective equipment (PPE) in a bid to tackle this problem.
Cardiff- based Thermal Compaction Group (TCG) has developed a
device to recycle disposable plastic PPE at source, which
re-engineers an average 24 tonnes of polypropylene waste each year
per unit.
The patented “Sterimelt” device
thermally compacts polypropylene and re-engineers it so that it is
suitable to make new products and help curb this global challenge.
Initially developed to recycle
polypropylene surgical tray wraps and drapes in hospitals, TCG has
since adapted the machine to also recycle medical-grade surgical
face masks and other types of PPE.
The device works by heating
polypropylene plastic up to 350 °C in 20-kg batches and then
thermally compacting it into rectangular blocks that can be
converted into pellets to make new plastic products.
The blocks are then converted into a
range of new items, including bins creating a sustainable circular
recycling chain.
The innovative technology will
significantly help to reduce carbon emissions by decreasing the
volume of waste needing to be transported off-site. It is
estimated that for every 10,000 kg of waste put through Sterimelt
will result into saving 7,500 kg of carbon emissions, equating to
a 75% saving on their current output.
The Group currently has its
Sterimelt devices in seven hospital trusts across the UK,
including the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in Newport,
which was the first adopter of the technology in 2016.
While the device works for most
polypropylene-based products, there are certain elements to a
medical-grade face mask that cannot be melted down such as the
wired nose pieces. To help improve sustainability, it is advised
that manufacturers across the globe make the PPE from a single
polymer material to enable the entire mask to be melted down in
one go.
https://www.medicalplasticsnews.com/news/technology/solution-to-global-ppe-wasteproblem-unmasked/
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