A mug made from hospital waste

2023-07-06 00:26:00

Christoph Burgstaller took his own cup with him. Not for the coffee, which the managing director of the Transfer Center for Plastics Technology would easily get in a cup at the presentation of the “HospiCycle” project in Linz. He took it with him to show that it is possible to make something useful out of hospital waste.

The packaging cup he is proudly holding is made from 100 percent recycled material. From the packaging of syringes, bottles, infusion and disinfection bags. There may also be containers from the hospital kitchen or from the hospital’s cleaning department. In any case, contaminated waste is excluded. Because only completely emptied packaging was collected.

The Gesundheitsholding Oberösterreich (OÖG) has committed itself to a circular economy project in the hospital sector. The goal: to recycle hospital-specific plastic waste, such as packaging for sterile single-use products, in order to protect the environment.

In addition to Burgstaller and the OÖG, the recycler Walter Kunststoffe as coordinator and the packaging manufacturer Greiner Packaging were also involved in the project. At the locations of the OÖG regional clinics and at the Kepler University Clinic, more than 6000 tons of waste are generated every year. In the regional clinics alone, 90 tons of this is plastic packaging. The waste was sorted, cleaned and shredded.

A granulate is produced by melting and extrusion, blow molding or injection molding, which is either used completely or mixed with new material. This results in bottles, canisters or foils. Deputy Governor Christine Haberlander (VP) and Economics Minister Markus Achleitner (VP) emphasized the importance of the project for health, business and research.

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