The Problem
With around 1500 hospitals in the UK, estimates put the total tonnage of PVC waste at over 2,000 tonnes per annum British Plastics Federation.
RecoMed
RecoMed, the PVC medical device recycling scheme operated by Axion, in partnership with the British Plastics Federation and funded by Vinyl Plus, the voluntary sustainable development programme of the European PVC industry. It is a scheme involving the collection of certain PVC hospital waste (currently limited to face masks) which is then transported to a recycler, and subsequently transformed into tree ties for the horticultural industry. Limiting the amount of waste and promoting a circular economy.
RecoMed in S.E.A.S.N
In the summer of 2017 The Great Western Hospital in Swindon became one of the first trust in the country to formally implemented the RecoMed scheme with great success. Come around to recycling make a positive change, published in anaesthesia news documented this process and aims to break down the process for others.
RecoMed at Great Western Hospital
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633kg PVC collected to date (June 2019).
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1203kg reduction in CO2e to date.
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10,550 tree ties produced to date.
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Subsequently the following trusts are in the process of implementation within S.E.A.S.N.
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University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (Bristol Royal Infirmary and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children)
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North Bristol NHS Trust
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Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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We aim to be the first region in the country with universal uptake of the Recomed programme and look forward to widening of items taken into the scheme. If you have any further questions please get in touch.