PVC 2021: Moving healthcare towards circular economy

COVID-19 has highlighted the crucial role played by single-use plastic medical devices in the prevention and control of infections in hospitals. The surge in the use of disposables has emphasised the need to develop circular solutions for medical plastics. Properly sorting and recycling the non-infectious plastic waste can both significantly reduce the environmental impact of hospitals and their operational cost. But is it even possible to implement such recycling schemes in healthcare settings where staff are busy saving lives? What about the risk of infections?

In his presentation at the virtual PVC 2021 conference in May, PVCMed Alliance Project Manager Ole Grøndahl Hansen will talk about how the many PVC medical device take schemes around the world can inspire hospitals to take up the challenge of transforming their medical plastic waste into useful products. Experiences from Australia, the UK and other countries show it is indeed possible to safely collect used PVC-based medical devices in hospitals. At the same time, healthcare professionals are highly motivated to contribute to make the health sector more sustainable.

See programme.