VinylPlus: Towards a Greener Healthcare in Flanders

As a signatory of the Flemish Green Deal on Sustainable Health, and the organisation behind the pioneering VinylPlus® Med recycling programme for PVC medical devices in Belgium, VinylPlus® participated on 1 February in the enlightening roundtable discussion titled "Plastics in Healthcare."

Hosted by OVAM, Essenscia, and Denuo, the roundtable brought together various stakeholders, including the Flemish healthcare sector, medtech companies, and waste management experts, for an open and robust dialogue.

The focus was on addressing the challenges and seizing opportunities to expand plastic recycling in the Flemish medical sector. Insights gained from these discussions will be distilled into a position paper, promising valuable knowledge-sharing and future initiatives.

VinylPlus expresses its gratitude to the organizers for orchestrating this vital event, emphasising the significance of collaborative efforts in driving sustainable solutions in healthcare. The European PVC industry looks forward sharing knowledge gained through VinylPlus® Med and directly supports projects promoting the logistics of medical plastics such as the new Select4Care project led by Denuo.

PVC, the most common plastic for disposable medical devices such as oxygen and anesthetic masks, tubing, IV and dialysis bags, plays a pivotal role in the industry. Many of these single-use devices, which are either unused or have limited patient contact, hold tremendous potential for recycling.

In February 2022, VinylPlus® Med launched a pioneering recycling scheme for single-use PVC medical devices in Belgium. The initiative focuses on clean and REACH-compliant PVC waste, which can be transformed into a diverse range of valuable products distributed across Europe. This endeavor builds upon the successful RecoMed recycling program funded by VinylPlus.

VinylPlus® Med has strategically partnered with Raff Plastics as the plastic recycler and Renewi as the waste management company. VinylPlus® Med counts 25 hospitals with many more on the waiting list. All hospitals and partners are located within a radius of 200 km, to minimise transport distances and thus mitigate carbon footprint.