VinylPlus Med accelerates sustainability in Belgian healthcare

Building on the success of the VinylPlus-funded RecoMed recycling scheme of PVC masks and tubing, VinylPlus Med has officially launched a pilot recycling scheme to accelerate sustainability in Belgian hospitals.

Aimed at accelerating sustainability in healthcare across Europe through the recycling of discarded single-use PVC medical devices, VinylPlus Med brings together hospitals, waste management companies, recyclers and the PVC industry.

Adequate sorting and recycling of non-infectious plastic waste can significantly reduce the environmental impact of hospitals and their operational costs.

PVC is the most common plastic used in life-saving disposable medical devices including oxygen and anaesthetic masks, tubing, IV and dialysis bags. VinylPlus Med is now ready to set up a recycling scheme for single-use PVC medical devices to help Belgian hospitals sort their PVC medical waste stream. The scheme will focus on clean and REACH-compliant PVC waste that can be recycled into a wide range of value products marketed across Europe.

Brigitte Dero, Managing Director of VinylPlus, said: “Starting with a pilot project in Belgium, we are excited to make medical plastics more circular together with our partners … We are keen to enhance PVC’s recyclability in this critical sector and are delighted to officially launch our VinylPlus Med pilot project in Belgium.”

Caroline Van der Perre, Co-Owner, Raff Plastics, added: “For a recycling company such as Raff Plastics, projects like VinylPlus Med are important as we assume that everything starts with a good collection. According to us, there are unfortunately still many materials that could be recycled but, due to unfavourable circumstances, are sent to landfill or incineration. A project such as VinylPlus Med makes sure that everyone becomes aware and committed to working together to the renewal of raw materials.”

COVID-19 has highlighted the crucial role played by single-use plastic medical devices in the prevention and control of infection in hospitals. The surge in the need of such disposable items has shed light on the challenges of properly managing and discarding them after use.