Many governments and consumers are increasingly concerned about sustainability and the environment. From climate change and depleting resources to CO2 reduction and recycling, major changes have been occurring for materials manu¬facturers. Governmental and corporate targets reflect the urgency for materials and goods producers to act now and in the near future. 

The changes and challenges are particularly acute in the medical device market. A large amount of pack¬aging is required for hygiene and ensuring that medical devices remain sterile. Although such packaging helps minimize risk to the patient, it poses challenges for medical device companies seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of their devices.

Therefore, sustainability is increasingly becoming a design criterion that must be considered for new devices and packaging. As a global society, we produce more than 450 million tons per year of plastics, of which 35% is one-time use and only 9% is recycled. Approximately 12 million tons per year end up in the oceans. In the medical environ¬ment, packaging waste and single-use devices are the most visible and criticized environmental concern of medical personnel and patients. 

To address these issues, we anticipate a shift to a circular economy. In a circular economy, two cycles can typically be defined: one where re-use and refurbish¬ment are used to enhance use time and reduce pressure on resources, and another where new, virgin product manufacturing is needed. Both circles will be needed for the medical device market. 

Helping you master the circular economy and recycling  

To help you navigate the changing sustainability environment, Envalior has prepared the white paper Embracing Sustainability in the Medical Device Market, that provides essential information to manufacturers of medical devices. 

The white paper explains the workings of the circular economy, and examines how various types of recycling may or may not be appropriate for the medical device market. For example, mechanical recycling—the re-use of materials utilizing only physical steps like washing and melt processing—is always the simplest and the most energy efficient circular solution. Because it appears simple, it is favored by many stakeholders in the sustainability discussion. For medical devices, however, mechanical recycling can and is being done in extremely limited closed-loop manufacturing environments.

Efforts for mechanical recycling are gaining trac¬tion with secondary packaging that is “consumed” before use / patient contact, but because of the potential biohazard from patient interactions, the logistics of mechanical recycling post-use are difficult. In most cases, because of the strict demands with respect to collection and sorting, and the issues associated with cross contam¬ination, hygiene, multiple heat histories and the potential degradation effects changing materials, the risks are assessed as not acceptable within the medical industry. 

The white paper offers similar analyses of numerous recycling processes and their possible application to medical devices, including depolymerization, biomass, pyrolysis and mixed plastic waste/pyrolysis oil. It also explains how life cycle assessments (LCAs) can be useful to help end users discriminate between materials. LCAs provide a comprehensive analysis of all the inputs and outputs—what is consumed, and the wastes emitted—associated with the manufacture of a product. The inputs and outputs are then evaluated for their impacts on long-term sustainability of renewable and nonre¬newable resources, human health, and biodiversity, amongst others. Once these are understood, better sourcing decisions can be made.

The white paper also explores how you can pragmatically implement the selected solutions and provides guidance in navigating the ever-present regulatory pathways. 

Today, most health care organizations are choosing traditionally produced fossil fuel materials because of the economics, especially for one-time-use, high-volume disposable commodity applications that are price sensitive. However, some manufacturers are blending traditional fossil fuel derived products with their lower carbon footprint counterparts to meet specific quantifiable carbon footprint reduction goals and mitigate some of the associated upcharges. Others are making the leap directly to the most sustainable material.

Sustainability is one of our core values 

At Envalior, sustainability is a core value and has been for more than 30 years. We continuously reduce emissions from our own operation—called scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. Scope 1 is about our natural gas combustion, and how we reduce that by energy efficiency programs and implementing alternative heating systems. Scope 2 is about indirect emissions from purchased fossil-based electricity. Scope 3 is about reduction—the emissions for the production at the producer of our purchased materials.

Our team of experts has been driving our science-based sustainability vision through our organization and into the engi¬neering materials we manufacture. A full suite of tools and technologies is being implemented with an ever-expanding portfolio of commer¬cial products that continuously improves the sustainability footprint of our operations and materials, including our medical grades.

You can leverage our expertise 

As a partner and solutions provider, Envalior can assist pharmaceutical and medical device companies with their individual sustainability journeys. Your company can leverage our expertise and sustainable medical materials portfolio, and we can partner with your company on developing a strategic sustainability program including a scope of work, timeline, and associated costs.