A new coalition wants to enable greater plastics recycling in healthcare–an industry that is notorious for generating vast amounts of plastic waste.
The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) is made up of eight well-known brands in the industry: Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX), Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), Engineered Plastics, DuPont (NYSE: DD), Hospira (NYSE: HSP), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Kimberly Clark (NYSE: KMB) and Waste Management (NYSE: WM).
HPRC says its mission is to increase the overall recycling of healthcare plastics by identifying barriers to recycling and developing solutions from product design and manufacturing through product use, disposal and recycle.
HPRC is starting with three initiatives. The first – healthcare plastics value chain mapping – is focused on defining the healthcare value chain and identifying issues that prevent plastics recycling.
The second initiative – design for recycling guidelines – is focused on developing a document that articulates product and packaging design considerations that could enhance recycling potential and value.
The third initiative – pilot study programs in healthcare facilities – is focused on building a data model to facilitate economic analysis of plastics recycling.
The HPRC council will convene biannually at meetings hosted by an HPRC member that include facility tours to further learning and knowledge sharing opportunities through first-hand demonstration of best practices in sustainable product and packaging design and recycling processes.
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