Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC)

We had a great week attending NPE2024 and presenting a session on advances in medical waste recycling! The event is always a good opportunity to connect with peers in the industry and learn about the latest innovations and technologies. We're already looking forward to NPE2027!

Congratulations to our Healthcare Facility Advisory Board members Advocate Health, HealthPartners, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, and Hackensack Meridian Health for earning a place in Practice Greenhealth's Top 25 Environmental Excellence Awards! This award honors facilities that exemplify the highest standards for sustainability practices in health care. These facilities have formal commitments to address climate change, avoid chemicals of concern and reduce meat served, engage staff in supporting their sustainability programs, and demonstrate leadership in their communities and across the health care sector. The following facilities were recognized for this environmental achievement: - Advocate Christ Medical Center & Advocate Children's Hospital - Amery Hospital & Clinic - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center - Cleveland Clinic - Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center - Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center - Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center - Hudson Hospital & Clinic - Regions Hospital Learn more about the award here: https://lnkd.in/gevWypjK

This is HPRC♻️✨ We're just ordinary people, but together, we're doing something extraordinary.

After receiving a grant from Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services, B. Braun Medical Inc. (US), Lehigh Valley Health Network, and PureCycle Technologies partnered to set up a recycling pilot for non-hazardous medical plastic waste. The goal of the pilot was to identify barriers to increasing nonhazardous medical plastic recycling rates at health care providers by instituting a collection and processing program aligned with the quality requirements of an advanced plastics recycler in the region. Their recently published report offers insights into the collection logistics, material analysis process, and the key findings and takeaways from the pilot. Download the full report below: https://lnkd.in/gBYV7MuU

Last week, HPRC members gathered in Houston, Texas for our Spring Full Council Meeting hosted by Dow! It was our largest meeting yet with attendees representing more than 30 member and partner organizations. The meeting included project updates, presentations from our partners, introductions to our newest members, and more. In addition to our packed meeting agenda, we had a few facility tours lined up. Houston Methodist Hospital offered our members a tour of their Downtown Houston location, giving members a real-life look into how plastics are used and disposed of throughout the hospital. Dow offered a tour of PACK Studios, their packaging innovation facility located south of Houston. Our members got to see how Dow is working to solve unique packaging challenges and accelerate packaging innovation. Many thanks to our HPRC members and partners for making this such a productive and insightful meeting. And a huge thank you to Dow for hosting the meeting and to Houston Methodist for the generous tour! We look forward to meeting again in the fall.

Join us at the NPE2024 conference! HPRC will be presenting on Advances in Medical Waste Recycling on Wednesday, May 8th at 2:00pm. Speaking during the presentation will be: - Tracy Taszarek, North American Director, HPRC (Moderator) - Zach Muscato, Corporate Sustainability Manager, Plastics Ingenuity - Katherine Hofmann, PhD, Sustainability Strategic Initiatives Manager, Eastman - Robert Render, President, Lakeside 360 Partners This presentation will overview the research, pilot testing and results of HPRC’s advanced recycling work that shows promise for recycling difficult-to-process healthcare plastics and aims to enable greater material circularity within the healthcare industry. We hope to see you there!

The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council and Alliance to End Plastic Waste are partnering with Houston Methodist Hospital in an effort to demonstrate cross value chain collaboration and divert single-use plastics from landfill or incineration. The objective of the pilot is to create a program model that demonstrates effective collaboration across the plastics value chain and establishes responsible plastic recycling practices within a geographical network of hospitals with the end goal of serving as a blueprint for other regions. The pilot is expected to begin Summer 2024. Learn more about this partnership and the pilot project below: https://lnkd.in/g-JqEvNQ #HPRC #Healthcare #PlasticsRecycling

If you're attending the[PACK]out® this year, be sure to check out the industry power hour where Alison Bryant, Communications Director of HPRC, will be speaking about HPRC's Guiding Principles on Advanced Recycling. We hope to see you there!

HPRC is thrilled to welcome Olympus Corporation, a leading manufacturer of optical and digital precision technology, as a new member. Olympus provides versatile medical devices including endoscopes, endotherapy, and surgical devices as well as products and solutions for lung, colorectal, and stomach cancer. “Olympus has an established history of bringing innovation to the healthcare industry and has been a pioneer in MedTech products and services,” said Peylina Chu, Executive Director of HPRC. “We look forward to them bringing that innovative spirit to HPRC as they support our work to overcome barriers and identify solutions for healthcare plastic recycling.” Welcome, Olympus! #HPRC #PlasticsRecycling

Happy Earth Day! 🌎 🌱 This year's theme is "Planet Vs. Plastic" - recognizing the need to stakeholders to work collaboratively to combat plastic pollution and protect our health. At HPRC, we understand how necessary collaboration is, especially in addressing healthcare plastic waste. Through our work, we're bringing the right stakeholders to the table to most effectively develop solutions to the ever-growing and complex issue of healthcare plastics recycling. Check out our resources to learn more about how your organization can take action to reduce the environmental impact of healthcare plastics: https://lnkd.in/giqFYMja #PlanetVsPlastics #EarthDay #HPRC