Materials Testing: Focus on Healthcare Film Recycling
One of the biggest challenges of recycling healthcare plastics is finding viable reuse applications for the recycled material.
To better understand the potential recycling value of polymeric packaging materials from the hospital waste stream, HPRC, in collaboration with Plastics Engineering Technology students at Penn State, conducted a study that tested and analyzed the physical properties associated with various blends of recycled plastics and virgin resin typically found in hospital areas which generate the highest volumes of packaging waste - the operating room, general floor and loading dock.
Read about this interesting study here.
About HPRC
HPRC is a private technical coalition of industry peers across healthcare, recycling and waste management industries seeking to improve recyclability of plastic products within healthcare. HPRC is made up of brand leading and globally recognized members including Nelipak, Baxter, BD, Cardinal Health, DuPont, Eastman Chemical Company, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Ravago Manufacturing Americas and SABIC Innovative Plastics. The council convenes biannually at meetings hosted by an HPRC member that include facility tours to further learning and knowledge sharing opportunities through first-hand demonstration of best practices in sustainable product and packaging design and recycling processes. For more information, visit www.hprc.org.
