New coalition seeks to increase medical plastics recycling

Eight players in the recycling, waste management and medical parts businesses have banded together to form a technical coalition dedicated to increasing recovery rates for plastic used by the healthcare industry.

Called the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC), the St. Paul, Minn.-based group describes itself in its first press release as “a technical coalition seeking to inspire and enable sustainable, cost effective recycling solutions for plastic products and materials used in the delivery of healthcare.”

“Understanding that the potential for plastics recycling is significant to both reducing environmental and human health impacts, HPRC exists in a collaborative effort to be a change agent for sustainable healthcare product and packaging lifecycle with the end goal of increasing the overall recycling of healthcare plastics,” the statement said.

The group includes Waste Management Inc., Engineered Plastics Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Co., Cardinal Health, DuPont, Hospira, Johnson & Johnson and Kimberly-Clark.

The council has given itself three objectives: defining the healthcare value chain and identifying issues and barriers along the value chain that disable plastics recycling; developing a document that articulates product and packaging design considerations that could enhance recycling potential and value; and building a data model to facilitate economic analysis of plastics recycling.