Australian group targets hospital PVC scrap

The Vinyl Council of Australia intends to expand its PVC Recycling in Hospitals program to cover 150 hospitals by the end of 2018.

Since its launch in 2009, the waste management and recycling program has grown to operate in 138 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand, according to the council. The program is managed by the Vinyl Council of Australia and its member partners: Baxter Healthcare, Aces Medical Waste and Welvic Australia.

During the past 12 months, more than 200 metric of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic scrap from hospitals has been diverted from landfills to recycling. This material is redirected to reprocessors in Australia. Australian and New Zealand manufacturers use the recycled polymer in new goods, such as garden hoses and outdoor playground matting.

The program partners are also exploring the design of new product applications to accept the growing volume of PVC scrap generated through the program.

“Thanks to great support and enthusiasm from health care professionals, the PVC Recycling in Hospitals program is now operating in virtually every state in Australia, [except] the Northern Territory,” says Vinyl Council Chief Executive Sophi MacMillan.

She continues, “It’s a great example of how the health care sector can demonstrate leadership in PVC sustainability and recover high quality material that can be genuinely recycled locally for use in new products. We are currently looking at further end product applications for the [material].”

“New South Wales is one of our priorities given it only has 11 hospitals participating in the program at the moment,” MacMillan continues. “As the state with the biggest population in Australia, the opportunity to grow the program there is really good.”

As part of its drive to encourage greater participation and explain how the program works, Vinyl Council representatives are attending the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association Annual Conference in Sydney in late July 2018.