End-of-life Opportunities for Medically Contaminated Materials

In this section, you can access to the latest technical information related to the FUTURE project topic.

Overview

This organization is seeking solutions that recycle or re-use materials/textiles used in Surgical Operating Rooms (OR). Typical materials include gowns and drapes made from polypropylene or other polyolefins.

Currently, materials from the OR are sent to a landfill or are incinerated and are not reused or re-purposed. Any solutions that could reduce the amount of non-recoverable waste coming out of the OR will be of interest.

For example, solutions could include:

Solutions to process medically-contaminated materials in the OR
Improved handling, storage, and logistics which enables circular/re-use models
Improved sorting or separation of contaminated from non-contaminated materials
Consortiums and agreements between hospitals and local municipalities that enables an end-to-end circular model

Constraints

Regulatory restrictions are likely to impact the viability of some solutions in certain geographies.
Not all materials entered into the waste bin are medically contaminated until they enter the bin.
Materials can also include small quantities of other polymers, e.g., polyester, polyurethane, natural fibres (e.g., cotton, viscose), and miscellaneous inorganic content (e.g., metals, calcium carbonate).
Solutions related to re-useable textiles are not in-scope.

Desired outcome of the solution

Open to all types of partnerships, but a desired partner would be one that has a clear idea of the commercial and logistical complexity of a circular system.

Related Tech Needs

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