Second Life for Medical Devices

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) and Casella Waste System announced the most recent results of a recycling project. In the circular economy pilot, 40,000 pounds of medical waste were recycled and diverted from disposal.

Health care facilities are a major consumer of syringes, which have been particularly difficult to recycle due to the various components and steps involved in the process, including safe handling of medical waste and treating and sterilizing materials before they can be re-introduced for recycling. This recycling pilot helps address a historic challenge within the health care industry – which generates more than 3 billion pounds of plastic waste in the U.S. alone.

The circular economy pilot, which took place in the first half of 2023, was the first large-scale effort to assess the feasibility of recycling medical waste found in red sharps containers. These containers included a broad range of medical equipment and materials, primarily syringes and needles. The medical waste was collected across a variety of health care facilities and all of the plastics were diverted from disposal and recycled. The pilot also assessed technical feasibility of two types of technology – mechanical and advanced recycling – both showing favorable results in their ability to successfully recycle used medical devices for use in other products. Read more

Aimplas Posts Social Impact Report

AIMPLAS · Instituto Tecnológico del Plástico has presented its Sustainability Report, prepared in accordance with GRI standards. In its fourth sustainability report, the research institute‘s social impact in 2022 has been quantified at EUR 665 million. Read more

Henkel Buys US Company Critica

Henkel is expanding its portfolio in the field of maintenance, repair and overhaul. The Group acquires the US company Critica, which specializes in sheathing and reinforcement solutions made of composite materials. Read more

Arburg Presents Series for Fiber-Reinforced Filaments

At #Formnext2023, ARBURG GmbH + Co KG demonstrates, among other things, the processing of fiber-reinforced filaments. Loadable suction pads and mechanical grippers made of fiber-reinforced PA and PP with individualized fingers for picking up components, mounted on robot arms, will be on show in Frankfurt. Read more